


Spirit Cats: Fall

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Spirit Cats [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Children, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Kid Fic, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Since the eventual summer of discovering magic cats, things have been quiet in town.  Shiro is happy to see Keith adjusting to Marmora Academy and all seems to be well.  However, when a man name Sendak comes to town Shiro can't help but suspect he's not just a tourist passing through.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY DONE! This story took a lot longer than I planned to write, but here it is. Since this story is about 14-15 chapters, I figure I would post two chapters a week for this. So, you guys can expect updates on Tuesdays and Fridays. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks to all who have been waiting and I hope you all enjoy this.

Despite it being morning, the sun had not risen, but Sendak preferred it this way. With fewer cars on the road, It would make it less troublesome for travelling. He checked his suitcase for any final belongings to back, and ensured he had his map with the town marked clearly on it.

Once that was done, he picked up his cell phone, dialed and waited for the response.

“Are you leaving now?” Haggar’s voice spoke with no greeting.

“As of right now, yes,” Sendak said as he picked up his suitcase. “Does Zarkon have any final instructions to add?”

“No,” Haggar spoke. “Your mission is to find those cats and bring them to Zarkon.”

“Affirmative,” Sendak replied as he left and locked the door. “I will not fail him.”

“You better not. Zarkon is still angry over the disappointment of those hunters.”

Sendak smiled as he headed towards his car. “Don’t worry, unlike those buffoons I’m going to fully research the ‘targets’ before I make my move.”

“Very well, Sendak,” Haggar spoke in a crisp tone. “And remember, Zarkon will not assist you if you fail him.”

“Understood.” Sendak heard Haggar hang up and pocketed his phone. He brushed some of the fall leaves off the roof before he climbed into the driver’s seat. He took one more look at the map before he began his drive.

It shouldn’t be that hard of a mission. All he had to do was get a few cats away from four children and one man. It couldn’t be any simpler.

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Shiro drummed his fingers against his knee as they sat in the office. He glanced at the clock. They had only been waiting five minutes, but why did it feel longer than that?

The sound of Keith’s foot tapping against the floor reminded him why and he reached over to pat the boy’s head. “It’ll be fine, Buddy, relax,” he whispered.

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “I doubt it,” he muttered. “Meetings with a principal never go well.”

“They haven’t in the past for us, no.” Shiro agreed with a nod. “But we never even met Mr. Kolivan.”

Keith growled. “Then why did he want to meet us anyway?”

That was a fair question, and one he wasn’t sure how to answer. Shiro had gotten a call from Kolivan last night, and requested to see both him and Keith in his office. With school starting up again in a few days, he could only assume the meeting was regarding Keith entering as a new student.

However, did something that like really require a private meeting with the principal? Maybe it was a normal thing, except Shiro couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious over it himself. It almost made him wish they brought along both Red and Black. Yet, Shiro’s common sense argued bringing along two magical cats to a meeting with the school principal was not the best of ideas.

Shiro opened his mouth to reply when then the office door opened. A large man, with a long braid hanging over his shoulder locked his eyes at them. 

“Mister Shirogane? I’m Principal Kolivan,” he stepped aside. “Will you and Keith please enter?”

Shiro gave a nod as he stood, took Keith’s hand and gave it a small comforting squeeze as they stepped inside the office. Another man, with dark hair and shorter hair, stood next to the desk as he gave them a welcoming smile.

“No need to be nervous,” he said as he gestured to the chairs. “I swear we don’t bite.”

Shiro gave a small smile at that as he and Keith took a seat. “So, what is exactly this about?”

“Let us start with proper introductions,” Kolivan replied as he folded his hands behind his desk. “The man next to me is Mister Thace, he shall be Keith’s teacher for the next school year.”

Thace gave a nod and looked towards Keith in particular. “Nice to meet you, I’m sure we’ll have a lot to learn from each other.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, but kept silent. Shiro patted Keith’s shoulder as he looked up to Thace. “Sorry, Keith’s a bit shy around strangers,” he said as he offered his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Shiro, Keith’s cousin.”

Thace shook his prosthetic arm without a second glance. “Likewise and it’s fine, I was the same way at his age.”

Shiro felt a bit more at ease and looked back to Kolivan. “So, what is this meeting about?”

Kolivan reached inside his desk and brought out a folder. “Since Keith is a brand new student here, I thought it would be best if given a tour of the school so he would feel more comfortable.”

“Oh,” Shiro said as he crossed his arms. That was reasonable, and quite frankly practical. Shiro felt a bit guilty now for being paranoid. Although, given Keith’s school history, he still felt a right to be on guard.

“In regarding that,” Koliva continued, “I thought Thace could show Keith the classroom, while you and I discuss what school supplies he’ll need.”

Shiro frowned. School supplies, huh? Maybe he did have a right to be paranoid. He glanced to Keith. “You okay with that, buddy?” 

Keith was still clearly feeling nervous, and was reluctant to leave him if that was the case. However Shiro wished to find out what Kolivan’s agenda was, and preferably when Keith wasn’t around to hear it.

Keith chewed his bottom lip, uncertain. “I don’t know…”

“It won’t be long,” Thace said as he kneeled to be at Keith’s height, “and if you feel uncomfortable, we’ll come right back here.”

Keith hands tightened into fists, but after an encouraging nod from Shiro the boy relaxed.

“Alright, but as long as it’s quick,” Keith said as he stood up.

“I shall try my best to do so,” Thace said as he opened the door and lead the way. He and Kolivan exchanged a look before the office door was shut behind them.

Shiro dropped the smile as he leaned forward in his seat. “Something tells me you don’t wish to discuss school supplies.”

Kolivan shook his head, as he opened the folder. “No, there are some things regarding Keith’s file I was concerned about, but I thought it be best if Keith wasn’t present for it.”

Shiro rotated his shoulders. Oh great, he’d been dreading this.

“He’s been in quite the number of schools,” Kolivan stated.

Shiro nodded. “Keith’s mother died a few years ago, and he got tossed around different foster families until he lived with me.”

Kolivan grasped his chin as he looked over the file. “I sensed that was the case,” he pointed on a sheet of paper. “On that note, Keith seemed to have gotten into a few fights at his last school.”

Shiro rubbed his neck. “It wasn’t his choice. Keith didn’t fit in with the other kids and the teachers..well..”

“Were not very helpful I take it?” Koliva asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shiro sighed and nodded. “That’s..the nice way of putting it.” He didn’t feel the need to mention how the principal there had suggested that Keith should be sent to a boarding school.

Kolivan’s eyes narrowed as he folded his hands. “Did he make any friends while attending there?”

Shiro shook his head. 

“How about here in town?” Kolivan asked as he shut the folder. “Moving to a new town can be hard for a child to adjust.”

“He likes it,” Shiro said with a small smile, “and he’s made some friends.”

There was a warmth to his voice as he said it. Over the summer, Keith had slowly come out of his shell more. Shiro wasn’t sure if it was the new place, the other kids or maybe even the magical cats that had joined their lives. Whatever the cause, it was having a positive change on Keith.

Kolivan’s eyes narrowed. “And those friends would be Lance, Pidge and Hunk, correct?”

Shiro raised his head surprised. “Uh..yeah..how did you know?”

“Word travel fast in this town,” he said and then pinched the bridge of his nose, “especially regarding those three.”

Shiro tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Kolivan sucked air between his teeth. “They’ve been to my office a few times.” He leaned over his desk. “I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say they are the prime reason mashed potatoes are no longer served in the school cafeteria.”

Shiro blinked dumbly, and made a mental note to ask Coran about it later. 

“With that said,” Kolivan said as he reached for a pen, “I’ll have Thace arrange it so Keith is sitting next to them in his class.”

Shiro opened and shut his mouth. “Wait, so you’re going to let Keith sit with them?”

Kolivan raised his head with a quizzed expression. “Yes, or is there an issue with that I should be made aware of?”

Shiro waved his hands. “No, no, it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it.” He scratched his head. “By the sounds of it, I thought you were implying they were troublemakers.”

“Oh, they are,” Kolivan said as he pointed with his pen, “but they have good hearts and I imagine Keith will improve greatly if he’s feeling more at ease in the classroom.” He wrote more in the file. “In additions, I’ll set it up so you and Thace check in with each other to monitor on Keith’s progress.”

Shiro opened and shut his mouth. “That would be great, thank you.”

Kolivan put away his pen and frowned. “You sound shocked.”

“I am a bit,” Shiro said as he bit his lip. “I didn’t have a great experience with the teachers at Keith’s last school.”

“I understand,” Kolivan said in a gentler tone. “At my school, I prefer getting to the root of a child’s problem. In my experience, the best way for a student to gain knowledge is to discover what works for them.” 

He tapped his fingers on the folder. “It’s clear to me Keith is a bright boy judging by his grades alone, but that won’t get him very far if he doesn’t improve emotionally and how he relates to others. So, we’ll make that our prime focus for the time being.”

“I agree,” Shiro replied as he rubbed the back of his head. “I got to admit, I totally misjudged the reason you called us here.”

“It is wise to be skeptic,” Kolivan stated as he placed the folder back in the drawer and rose from his chair. “Now that we have that matter cleared up, shall we see how Keith and Thace are doing?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shiro replied as he stood and followed Kolivan out of the office. He couldn’t believe he’d been so worried, but it seemed Marmora Academy would be a perfect place for Keith.

08080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Keith wrinkled his nose as he stared out of the classroom window. “It’s not very big.”

“No, it’s not,” Thace nodded as he leaned against the wall, “but we are not a very big school.”

Keith kept his mouth shut as he glanced around the classroom. It looked like your typical classroom with the desks, charts and various educational posters plastered on the wall, although the tall bookshelf in the far corner caught his eye.

“I make it a habit to have a large selection for students to read,” Thace said as he looked to where Keith was staring. “Do you enjoy to read?”

Keith blushed slightly, and stuffed his hands into his pocket. “Yeah..a bit. I’m picky though.”

Thace gave a smirk before approaching the shelf and traced his fingers over the book spines. “I have a few different books here. Science fiction, mystery, adventure,” he glanced over his shoulder, “although I assure you our library has far more.”

Keith remained quiet as he crept forward and glanced over the books. There were a few classics, two he recognized and knew they would only bore him to tears, and the fifth… _The Emerald Wolf of Linzka?_ He’d never heard of that one.

Keith’s eyes locked onto the title on the spine as he pointed. “What’s that one?”

“It’s a fantasy novel,” Thace explained. “It’s not widely known, but I enjoyed it when I was young. It’s about a brother and a sister who come across a mystic wolf, while they are trying to rescue their missing father.”

Keith chewed his bottom lip. “Red might like that.”

“Red?” Thace asked.

Keith blushed and tried to turned his gaze away. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. “Red..is my cat and..she likes it when I read to her.”

It was a weird trait. Keith never pictured Red to enjoy stories so much. Whenever he found a new book to read, within minutes Red would appear at his feet and growl at him until he agreed to read it aloud to her.

It was annoying..but kind of fun in a weird way. Keith had to wondered if this was a magic cat thing, or just a Red thing.

“I see,” Thace replied in a thoughtful tone. He wrapped his hand around the book and held it out to Keith. “Would you like to borrow it?”

Keith’s eyes widened as he glanced down. “You mean, take it home?”

“That is the general idea,” Thace said with a smirk, “unless you are going to start living at the school?”

“But you don’t know me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose it?” Keith asked.

“You are going to be my student, so at some point I would like for me to be able to trust you.” He placed the book in Keith’s hand. “Think of it as your first assignment from me. Show me I can trust you with this book.” He crossed his arms. “Does that sound fair to you?”

Keith fingered the cover in disbelief. He couldn’t remember having any teacher willing to just lend him something like this. Thace was either really cool..or really weird.

“Uh, yeah, okay,” Keith said as he hugged the book to his chest. “That’s fair.”

Thace gave a smile as the door opened. Keith turned in time to see Shiro and Kolivan enter the room. Shiro was smiling, and it wasn’t one of the forced fake smiles Keith had seen him do after talking to the teachers at his last school. That had to be a good sign.

“Everything going well?” Kolivan asked as he approached with his hands behind his back like he was a soldier.

“I believe so,” Thace replied as he stood and looked to Shiro. “I hope your meeting was productive Mister Shirogane.”

“It was,” Shiro replied Keith moved to his side, “and you can just call me Shiro.”

Thace gave a nod as Kolivan crossed his arms. “Unless you have any more questions for us, I believe we are done here. We shall see you on Monday?”

“Sounds good,”Shiro said as he patted Keith’s shoulder. “You set to go, buddy?”

Keith nodded and was about to turn, but glanced to Thace. “Um..thanks for the book. I’ll bring it back to you soon.”

“No rush,” Thace replied as he waved. “We will be seeing each other a lot this yet. I doubt I’ll have a hard time finding you.”

Keith gave a small smile at that, and kept it as he and Shiro left the room.

“Thace lend you a book?” Shiro asked curiously as he glanced downward.

“Yeah,” Keith said as he already flipped to the first page. “He’s a bit weird, but..he seems nice.”

“Glad to hear it,” Shiro said as they exited the building. “Let’s grab some lunch in town before we head home.”

“Okay, but let’s not take too long,” Keith said as he glanced over the page. “Red gets anxious if I’m away.”

“I know,” Shiro said with a sigh. “Have a feeling she’s going to have a hard time adjusting with you at school all day.”

They continued their conversation without realizing both Kolivan and Thace were watching from the classroom window.

“Did the meeting actually go well?” Thace asked as he leaned against his desk.

Kolivan nodded without removing his gaze off of Shiro and Keith. “Yes, although he seemed quite surprised by our suggestions. I sense the boy has not had the best school experience.”

Thace frowned as he crossed his arms in thought. “I have the same suspicion.” He looked back to the bookshelf to where Keith had taken his book. “He seems like a good kid though. Hard to believe that he has a guardian cat living with him.”

“Two,” Kolivan corrected as he turned back to Thace. “The leader of the cats did choose Shiro.”

“Right, right,” Thace sighed as he rubbed his neck. “With trying to keep an eye on Keith and the other three, I’m going to have my hands full.”

“I know,” Kolivan said as his gaze softened. “Once again, Thace, thank you for agreeing to this.”

“It’s fine, they need someone to guard them.” Thace replied as he stood up and gave a smirk. “It will be a nice change from the grade niners. They’ll be more mature.”

Kolivan scoffed at that and then frowned. “While we’re on the subject, Antok hasn’t found any new information yet.”

Thace’s eyes narrowed. “What about the two hunters?”

“None, they seemed to have vanished off the grid. Antok believes they may be trying to hide from who had hired them.”

Thace shook his head. They had suspicions on who exactly had hired them, but it wasn’t much to go on without actual evidence. “Things would be much easier if we were able to question those hunters properly.”

“Antok is fully aware of that,” Kolivan replied with a sigh. “He still blames himself for their mistake.”

Which was a false belief in Thace’s opinion. They had all underestimated the hunters, and Antok wasn’t the one on shift when they escaped their cell. Still, Antok was the captain there, so it was only natural to blame himself.

“In any case,” Kolivan continued, “until we know for certain who is after those cats and what their plans are we need to safeguard those children.”

“Agreed, but what of Shiro?” Thace asked. “Have you decided how to guard him?”

In a weird sense, the children were easier. They would be in school most of the day where Thace and some of the other Blades on staff could watch them, but Shiro was another matter. He was an adult, and unless they wished to reveal themselves, it was far more difficult to appoint someone to watch him without him knowing.

Kolivan gave a small smirk. “Actually, Shiro took care of that for us.”

Thace raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Ulaz called me to inform me Shiro is his new patient,” Koliva said as he stared back out the window. “He was referred to him by his last doctor, and while he doesn’t need constant medical care, he will need checkups.”

Thace frowned as he fiddled with his tie. It wasn’t a perfect set up. Shiro would surely question if Ulaz began to make regular house calls, but it was better than nothing at all. Granted, the man was former military, so he had better means of defending himself than the children would.

“We are going to have to inform them eventually,” Thace stated in a solemn tone. “We can’t keep them in the dark about us forever.”

Kolivan shut his eyes. “I know, but we should allow them to have normal life as much as possible. We’ll save it for a last resort.”

Thace was tempted to argue there was nothing normal about mythical magic cats bonding with children, but he kept quiet. The fact remain that they were dealing with children who had no idea of the possible danger that lay ahead.

Thace couldn’t argue he wished to protect that blissful innocence for as long as possible.

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“Allura,” Lance whined as he hung upside down off the chair, “aren’t you done yet? I only got a week of summer left and I got a lot of goofing off to do with Blue.”

Blue gave an irritated meow as Allura finished examining her ear. “Just about, I just have a couple more to do.”

Lance, Hunk and Pidge all groaned. 

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” Pidge grumbled as she crossed her arms and Green jumped into her lap. “You’ve been studying the cats all summer and I seriously doubt you’re going to have any breakthroughs today.”

“Not to mention it’s been the same tests every day,” Hunk mumbled. “How would today’s been any different?”

Allura sighed as she reached for her stethoscope. “Part of the scientific process is repetition,” she explained as she went to hear Blue’s heart, “in doing so, we may be able to gain some insight in how-”

Blue whacked the stethoscope out of her hands. It clattered across the floor as Blue locked her annoyed gaze with Allura. No one dared to move or breathe until Allura lowered her hands and gave a forced smile to the kids.

“On second thought, perhaps we have done more than enough testing.”

“Finally!” Pidge shouted as Green and Yellow meowed in agreement. “Come on, Guys. I’m dying to play that new video game Matt sent me.”

Blue jumped off the table and raced directly to Lance who scooped him up. “Hey, think Shiro and Keith are back from their interview school..thingy?”

“You have impeccable timing, my boy,” Coran called out as he entered followed by Shiro and Keith and pointed to them. “They just arrived.”

“Hey,” Shiro greeted as Red and Black wandered in. “We got back a lot earlier than we expected.”

Allura removed her lab coat as she hung it on the wall. “I’m hoping this means the meeting went well?”

“Yeah,” Shiro said as he patted Keith’s head. “We had a good chat with Principal Kolivan. He was nice.”

Lance raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? He’s usually so grouchy.”

“That’s probably because when you see him it’s because you’ve been called into his office,” Coran stated as he twirled his moustache, “especially after the cafeteria incident.”

Allura cringed at the memory as she fiddled to untied her hair. That had been the day she took part in volunteering at the cafeteria. It took her days to get all those mashed potatoes out of her hair.

Shiro looked over her shoulder and crossed his arms. “Are you still doing those tests?”

“Nope, she declared herself finish, so the cats are free to go,” Pidge said as she looked to Keith. “Want to come? Matt sent me Demon King 5.”

Keith shrugged as Red cleaned her paws. “Sure, I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Great, let’s go so I can kick your butt,” Lance declared as he grabbed Keith by the arm and dragged him through the door.

“You are not going to kick my butt!” Keith cried out as Pidge, Hunk and the cats, except for Black, chased after them.

Shiro chuckled as he crossed his arms. “Lance will be in for a surprise. Keith and I are champions at Demon King 4.”

Allura giggled. “Oh dear, so it won’t be an easy fight.”

“All the more reason for me to whip up some lunch,” Coran said as he waved to them and left them alone. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Shiro kept his smile, but frowned as he turned to Allura and Black rubbed her head against his leg. “So, still nothing, huh?”

Allura massaged her forehead. “Yes, they’re all normal results. Frankly, if I hadn’t seen Blue change right before my eyes I would assume the cats are just cats.” She counted off her fingers. “There is nothing different in their blood, bodies and even temperament from any normal cat. At least from my general knowledge.”

It was a bit infuriating truth be told. Allura had desperately wanted to find some scientific answer for what they saw, but it was turning out to be a dead end.

Shiro leaned against the table as Black hopped onto it and asked for a pat. “That’s too bad, it would have been nice if we had that when we told Lance and Hunk’s families about it.”

Allura nodded. They both agreed that they couldn’t keep the other parents in the dark about this much longer. They still had no idea what kind of person had sent Nyma and Rolo to hunt the cats, and the fact was these were not ordinary cats. As insane as magical felines sounded, Shiro and Allura agreed the other parents should know.

Allura hoped some stable fact would help normalize the situation when they tried to explain it to them, but that well had run dry.

“Should we go ahead and tell them then?” Allura asked with a frown.

Shiro rubbed his neck. “I rather we have some solid information to tell them,” he lowered his hand to scratch Black’s neck. “I mean there are times I have a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing.”  


He trusted the cats, but that didn’t mean Hunk or Lance’s parents would. Shiro was afraid upon learning what the cats actually were, they might insist taking the cats away from Lance and Hunk. Shiro couldn’t see that ending well on either end.

“I can’t deny I have the same issue,” Allura said as she at on a stool. “But we must tell them at some point, Shiro. We won’t be able to keep this secret from them forever.”

Shiro stopped his scratching, despite Black’s protests as he grasped his chin. “You know, when I was a kid, I remember my Uncle Yoshi use to tell me the story about the cats from a book.”

Allura raised an eyebrow. “A book?”

“It was about local folklore and stuff,” Shiro explained as Black batted his hand for more pats and he finally complied. “Maybe it has more details about the cats that we don’t know about.”

“Do you still have that book?” Allura asked with interest.

Shiro shook his head. “No, but that’s because I remember it being a library book. It’s been a long time, but maybe it’s still there.”

“Oh,” Allura said as she leaned against her hand. “Yes, there is that I suppose.”

Shiro frowned as he tilted his head and Black flicked her ears. “Is that a problem?”

Allura realized how she sounded and shook her head. “No, no, sorry it’s a good idea.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s just the librarian...he’s...unique.”

Shiro gave her a dry look. “In my experience when people say ‘unique’ it’s because they’re trying to be polite and not say mean things about someone.”

Allura bit her lip. “Well...the librarian there, he’s a retired professor and he’s quite knowledgeable, but he’s very..shall we say particular in some areas.”

“You mean he’s hard to deal with?” Shiro asked as he placed a hand on his hip. “I do live with a 10 year old, Allura. It’s not like I haven’t seen that before.”

Allura gave a shaky smile. There was no way to describe it. Shiro wouldn’t fully understand unless he saw the man for himself. She reached over and patted his hand. “Just..try to be extra patient with him. He is a nice man, really, at least that’s what Father always told me before he passed away.”

Shiro still looked skeptical, but the look was forgotten as Black suddenly lowered her front and had a look of intrigue on her face. Shiro and Allura watched as she seemed to have locked onto something.

“See something, girl?” Shiro asked as he stepped back.

Black gave a firm meow before she jumped off the table, dashed around the bookcase and picked something up in her mouth. A subtle squeak was heard as Black jumped back up onto the table and placed a large yellow mouse in front of Allura.

“Platt!” Allura cried as the sleepy mouse rubbed his eyes and Allura scooped him up. “Did you sneak out of your cage again? I know I locked it this time.”

The little mouse wiggled his ears as he yawned and nestled into Allura’s hand. She sighed as she gently carried him towards the giant playpen she had set up in the other room. 

“Honestly, if you wanted to nap you should have stayed in here,” she scolded him as she opened the door and slipped him inside. Her other three mice peeked their heads out from their makeshift nest and raced over to greet Platt from his outing.

Shiro laughed as he scooped up Black. “You should have called him Houdini with all the escapes he’s managed to do.”

Allura shook her head as she opened up the container of mouse feed. “Actually, Chulatt is the worst culprit among them.” She reached for an empty bowl, refilled it and then placed the food inside the playpen. “I’m just lucky a cat hasn’t eaten them yet.”

Black meowed as she watched the mice scurry over to their food.

“I think they’re too smart to let that happen,” Shiro said as he kneeled. “You know, I never figured you a mouse lover.”

“Truthfully, I never did either,” Allura said as she kneeled and smiled, “but Father’s passing was quite a difficult time for me.” The mice raised their heads up to look at her. “Having these four around..I’m not certain how to describe it, but they gave me a great comfort.”

If Allura was honest, it was almost something out of a fairytale. The mice had shown up on her footstep cold and hurt, likely from being chased by some local animal. Coran had been ready to swoo them away, but Allura brought them in and nurse them back to health.

They had been a pleasant distraction from her grief. They made her laugh with their little faces and often times they stare at her as if they truly were listening to her. It made her feel like she had the ear of a close friend to talk to.

When they had recovered, Allura had set them free back into the woods, but to her amazement they came back into her house. She hadn’t even realized they had returned until she spotted them waiting for her at her vanity table.

She tried to set them free again, but they came back. After the fifth time, Allura just gave up and told Coran they seemed to have decided to be her pets now. Thus, she build them a proper play area that the mice seemed more than content with, and Allura would admit she was glad for the company. Sometimes, after a long day, she found she did require something small and furry to cuddle in her lap. 

Shiro showed her a sympathetic smile. “I can understand that,” he said as he stroked Black’s head. “I’m rather glad I have Black around, despite all the magical stuff we don’t quite understand.” Black gave a soft purr. “And I’m glad Keith has Red now, especially with school starting up soon.” He frowned at that. “I know he’s getting nervous about it.”

“Going to a new school is hard,” Allura commented as she rose, “but at least Lance, Pidge and Hunk will be attending with him.”

“Yeah,” Shiro replied, as he rubbed his neck, “still I know he’s worried about not fitting. He has a hard time relating to other kids.”

Allura could understand that. Keith did have the lone wolf vibe to him for someone so young. “Perhaps he could join a school activity that could assist him with that.” She clapped her hands. “Oh, of course! He can join the soccer team.”

Shiro blinked at her, as did Black in perfect unison. “Soccer team?”

“Pidge, Lance and Hunk take part in it every year,” Allura pointed to herself. “I’m the coach for it since it seems to be the only way to encourage Pidge to take part.”

“Ah,” Shiro said thoughtfully. “Keith’s never been majorly into sports, but if you and the other kids are with him it could be good for him.”

Allura gave him a sly smile as she poked his arm. “Even more so if you become my assistant coach.”

“Assistant coach?” Shiro asked.

“I’m in desperate need of one. It’s always a struggle every year and I often end up asking Coran for assistance, and I hate to bother him when he already does so much for the clinic.”

Shiro gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know how great I would-”

“You would be a natural for it,” Allura insisted and started to pulled him out of the room. “Come on, I’ll show you the game sessions Coran record last year. It’s quite fun.”

Shiro didn’t seem as positive, but didn’t resist as Allura pulled him. She grinned to herself feeling rather proud. 

If she had turned around, she might have seen Chulatt approach the door and twitched his whiskers at the lock. A brief spark of magic appeared and the lock gave a hard click before door swung open. Chulatt gave a content squeak before he scurried outside of the cage with a smug expression on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Red had never been to this ‘school’ place that human children were required to attend, and she never held opinions about it before. The morning that Keith was sent to this place and was firmly told she escort him, Red decided she loathe the place.

It wasn’t as if she was attached to Keith at the hip, although she had to admit she had steadily grown protective of the boy, and she never minded Keith going off without her before. However, Keith was never nervous during those outings and he was clearly hesitant as got dressed and filled up his backpack. 

Red didn’t like it, but Black confirmed it was for the boy’s own good. Watching Keith gradually eat his breakfast as he anxiously glanced to the clock caused Red to be less convinced this was the case.

_Why does he have to go?_ Red asked to Black. _I can’t see what he can learn there that he can’t here._

_It’s what humans do,_ Black told her as she nuzzled her head. _Shiro says it will be fine, and I believe him._

_I am not convinced,_ Red stated firmly before she approached Shiro and made her opinions known by growling at him.

The man looked down, smiled and patted Red’s head. “Keith’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Red huffed before trotting over to Keith and curled protectively around his legs. Keith responded by picking her up and scratching her head.

“Are you sure you can’t just homeschool me?” Keith asked.

Shiro ruffled his hair as Black stood at his side. “How about we discuss that after you get your first week under your belt.” He patted Red’s head. “You have to give that book back to Thace anyway right?”

Keith pouted as he reached for the book he finished a few days ago. “Yeah..and I’m kind of hoping he lends me another one.”

Red eyed the book. She had read the book over Keith’s shoulder when they cuddled in their favorite chair together. It was interesting to say the least, although she still didn’t believe it was worth returning if her boy had to go to this school.

“I’m sure he’ll do that if you ask,” Shiro asked as he gently took Red from his arms. “Come on, we got to go or we’re going to be late.”

Keith gave a pout as he reached over and patted Red. “Be back later, girl,” he told her as Shiro set her on the floor.

Red gave another growl as she watched the humans leave and shut the door.

_I should have used a sharpen claw spell and taken out the car’s tires,_ Red grumbled.

Black patted her head with her paw. _You know, with how much you grumbled about becoming a ‘human’s pet’ I never imagined you would become this overprotective._

_I’m not over protective...Keith is just small and needs to be guarded._

Black shook her head as she jumped up onto the window ledge. _Come on, we’re supposed to meet up with Green._

Red stole one more glance at the door before growling and followed her sister. She was going to feel anxious until Keith came home.

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Keith stood in the doorway to the classroom. He craved to move, but his feet felt glued to the floor. He looked around the room as the other students chatted and hung around their desks. 

He knew he would have to weave through this crowd of kids. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea. What if one of them tried to talk to him? What would he-

“Hey, Keith!”

He glanced up as she saw Hunk race up to and grab his hand. “Good, come on, we’re just over here.”

Keith felt his body relax as he let Hunk drag him over to the far corner. Pidge and Lance were already sitting at their desks, but they barely looked up from their game consoles as they approached.

“Pidge, stop using your ultimate attack already,” Lance whined.

“Not my fault you’re using a weak monster,” Pidge snarked back. 

“It’s a water type against your fire, it should be working.”

“Guys,” Hunk cut in as he sat in the desk next to Lance, “Keith’s here.”

They looked off as the victory music played from their game. “Oh, hey, Keith,” Lance greeted and pointed to the seat next to Pidge. “Looks like you’re sitting here.” 

Keith looked to the desk and blinked at the name tag there. “We’re sitting together?”

“Yeah, weird huh?” Pidge commented with a shrug. “I also can’t remember the last time Hunk, Lance and I were all in the same class together.”

Hunk gave a wince. “I thought Mister Kolivan vowed to keep us apart after the mashed potato incident.”

Keith tilted his head. “The what?”

“Don’t ask,” all three said in unison.

Keith wanted to ask further, except he heard a door shut behind them. He turned and saw Thace had entered with a binder under his arm. 

“Take your seats, class,” he called out as he approached the desk.

The kids stopped their chatter and silently took their seats. Keith did as well, but saw Pidge and Lance were still playing their game consoles in their laps.

“Guys, put that away,” Hunk hissed at them.

“Just got to finish this battle,” Lance muttered.

Keith raised an eyebrow, but turned his attention up front as Thace wrote his name on the board. 

“For those who haven’t met me, my name is Mister Thace,” he stated as he underlined his name. “Today we’re going to focus on what to expect from each of your classes, but we will begin on some lessons.” Without turning he set the chalk down. “Also, Pidge and Lance, please put away your game or I will be force to confiscate it until the end of the day.”

Pidge and Lance froze, exchanged a stunned look and meekly tucked away their games into their desks. A girl from the corner of the room snickered.

“Don’t laugh, Emily,” Thace stated as he turned, “the same goes for you if you do not stop texting on your phone.”

The girl stopped laughing, paled and swiftly put the phone she’d been hiding in her lap into her desk.

“Thank you,” Thace said with a nod as he turned his attention back to the board. “Please take out some paper, a pencil and your math textbooks, and Mark do not even think of throwing that paper airplane at my head.”

Keith glanced and saw a boy in the front slowly sit back down in his seat and crumple the paper plane he had in his hands.

“Wow, he’s good,” Hunk whispered.

“Yeah, like ninja good,” Lance whispered.

“I’m starting to wonder if that’s why we all got put into the same class,” Pidge muttered dryly.

Keith nodded, but froze as he saw Thace cast a look in their direction before he opened his textbook. _Something tells me he’s got super good hearing too,_ Keith thought as he opened his textbook. 

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Shiro remember the library feeling like a castle when he was a child, but granted many large buildings probably had that feeling during childhood. The library wasn’t tiny by any means, but it didn’t hold a sense of grandeur he recalled feeling when his uncle took him here.

The library was just as quiet though as he entered into the lobby. There were no signs of any other patreons which didn’t surprise Shiro. It was still early in the morning, but a part of him prefered it that way. Perhaps he was paranoid, although he didn’t want people to find out what he was researching if he could help it.

He looked to the information desk and it was covered in towers of books. As he got closer, he began to wonder where the librarian was until he realized someone was there with his head buried into a book.

Whoever it was was short and didn’t even confirm Shiro’s presence as he approached.

“Excuse me?” he spoke.

The person jumped with a start and looked like he almost had a heart attack as he placed a hand over his chest.

“Who?! What?!” He raised his head at Shiro and took a deep breath. “Did anyone ever tell you to not sneak up on people?”

“Uh, sorry,” Shiro said as he raised his hands. “I just had a question.”

The librarian frowned and gave a tired sigh as he shut his book. “Alright, about what?”

“I’m looking on a book on local folklore,” Shiro said as he glanced to the stacks of books and spotted a book on top. “Oh, like this one-”

“Don’t touch that!” the librarian exclaimed as he swatted Shiro’s hands away. “I just got these books organized by colour.”

Shiro blinked dumbly. “By colour?” He suddenly realized that the books had been organized into piles of red, blue and yellow. “Um..aren’t books categorized by the numbers?”

The librarian sighed. “Yes, but red is an unlucky colour and blue is a lucky colour.” He tapped to the red pile. “If I organize the red books first, I can counter the bad luck by doing the blue books right after.”

“And the yellow books?” Shiro asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Higher chance of falling on my head, so I’m living those for the part timers to handle,” the librarian said as he crossed his arms like it was obvious.

Shiro scratched his head. “Um..are you Slav by any chance?”

The librarian blinked and tilted his head. “Yes, who told you?”

“Um..I heard about you from my friend Allura.”

Slav frowned, but then snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes her. Always returns her books on time.” He gave a huff. “Her assistant on the other hand has been late constantly and always increases of my chances of getting paper cuts.”

Shiro didn’t quite understand what the connection to Coran and paper cuts were, but he deemed it better to leave that matter alone.

“Look,” Shiro said as he leaned over the desk, “can you just tell me where the section on folklore and legends would be?”

Slav pointed ahead. “Upstairs, to the right and don’t cut through the history section to get there.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Um..dare I ask why?”

“Because that history section is right over my desk and the likelihood of your footsteps causing a ceiling tile to fall on my head is up to 60 percent.”

“Right,” Shiro said with a sigh as he waved to him. “I’ll try not to do that.”

Slav huffed as he scoffed his arms. “You better because I’ll know.” He picked up his books. “I could hear the footsteps of that giant when he cut through there even though I instructed him not to.”

Shiro paused and turned. “Other guy?”

Slav didn’t look up from the book he was reading. “Yes, another man wanted to know where that section was.” He frowned and looked up. “Huh, funny, he too wanted to know about local folklore specifically.”

The hairs on the back of Shiro’s neck went up, but he tried to brush it aside. _Probably just a coincidence,_ he thought as he climbed the steps. By the time he reached the top floor, Shiro managed to brush away his anxiousness and headed to the section.

He decide to not risk annoying Slav and cut through the geography section. As he passed the endless shelves of books he saw no one until he made the turn and entered the folklore section.

Slav wasn’t exaggerating when he said a giant. A large man in a long black coat was browsing through the pages of one of the books. He was twice Shiro’s size and when he turned his head, Shiro caught the glimpse of an eyepatch on the other eye.

Shiro wasn’t one to jump to conclusion, but something about the man put him on edge. He silently avoided eye contact as he walked by him and then kept his eyes on the book spines. 

_Come on, it has to be here,_ Shiro thought. _Mermaid tales, ghost stories, alien abductions..what’s that doing in this section? Wait, here it is!_

Shiro instantly recognized the cover. It was brown and the golden letters on the cover had dulled, but it looked exactly as Shiro remembered from his childhood. He flipped to the index and found the pages regarding the spring.

He grinned. “Found it,” he muttered.

“You’re a soldier aren’t you?”

Shiro jumped as he shut the book and turned. The man had put away his book and now had his full attention on Shiro. 

“Pardon?” Shiro asked.

The man smirked and crossed his arms. “The manner you hold yourself, and that scar on your nose hints to me you’ve been in combat.” He gestured to his eye. “Takes one to know one.”

Shiro stiffened, but gave a stiff nod. “I was in the military, but not anymore.”

“Ah, same,” the man said with the same smirk. “Must be hard to find work.”

“Uh, no,” Shiro said held the book to his chest. “I’m a writer now, and it’s a steady job.”

“Then you are lucky,” the man said as he offered his hand to him. “My name is Sendak and yours?”

Shiro glanced to the hand and found himself shaking it. “Shiro and can’t say I’ve ever seen you in town.”

“I just arrived, and I don’t plan to stay long,” Sendak said as he fingered a book on the shelf.

“Oh? Vacation?” Shiro asked and wanted to believe that was the case.

“On some work for my employer, but it’s boring to discuss.” Sendak eyes looked to the book in Shiro’s hands. “What book is that?”

Shiro looked down to the book and found his fingers gripping the cover. “Oh, this is just a book I use to read as a kid.”

“I see,” Sendak said as he stepped closer. “Reading about local folklore is a hobby of mine. I shall have to read that once you are done with it.”

“Um, yeah, you probably should,” Shiro said as he stepped around him. “Sorry, but I have to go.”

Sendak gave a laugh. “Very well, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each again quite soon.”

Shiro gave a polite nod before walking off. He wanted to assume he was being paranoid. With all the talks of magic cats, and someone after them, it was natural make anyone worry. 

Yet, something about the way Sendak smiled reminded Shiro of a jackal, and that could not have been a good thing.


	3. Chapter 3

The dust bunny was asking for it, at least in Red’s opinion. It was hopping around the base of the apple tree and seemed oblivious to their presence. The little fluff ball needed to learn to keep its guard up, hence why Red crouched low and went to pounce...or she would have if Yellow hadn’t tackled her.

_Stop picking on the forest spirits,_ Yellow chided as she pinned her sister to the ground.

Red growled as the said dust bunny scurried off to safety. _I wasn’t going to hurt it, and I’m bored._

Yellow released her as she shook her head. _That doesn’t mean you can go tackling other tiny creatures._

_To be fair,_ Green voiced from her sunny spot on the porch, _we are cats. That is what we’re known for._

Black jumped down from the branch she’d been sitting on. _The children should be home soon._ She pointed with her head to the right. _If you’re that bored you can go join Blue in her swim at the pond._

Red cringed and hissed. _No, thank you, I’m not that desperate._

She slumped against the trunk. Red never use to get bored, but that was when they lived solely in the forest and they had a routine of patrolling the area. Course, now Red felt uneasy if she was too far from the house and wasn’t there to scare off any potential intruders. It was even worse with both Shiro and Keith out of the house.

_How long do human children attend school?_ Red asked.

Green cleaned her paws. _From my understanding, they go until winter when they get a small break and then resume until the next summer._

_And then they’re done for the rest of their lives?_

Green shook her head. _No, they are granted another break and repeat the cycle for a good number of years._

Red growled as she buried her face into her paws. Stupid humans. Why did they have to force their cubs do such useless things. All any being had to learn was how to feed itself and defend itself. That was it. Why did humans have to make things so complicated?

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There were times Keith hated to be wrong, but today wasn’t one of them. He certainly wouldn’t declare today as his best day ever, but it was far better than what he’d been expecting.

Thace gave a basic introduction and wasn’t bothered by the questions Keith had. During the breaks, Keith mostly stuck with Pidge, Hunk and Lance, but none of the other kids approached him looking for a fight. A girl named Shay in particular came to greet Keith personally. 

“I’m a friend to Hunk,” she explained with a shy smile, “and any friend of him is a friend to me.”

Hunk blushed at that, but smiled and reassured Keith that Shay meant it. The rest of the day passed uneventfully as school typically did, and before he realized it the day was over. As Keith gathered up his textbooks, he realized he had yet to return his book to Thace.

He waited until the other students left the room, although he had to tell Hunk, Pidge and Lance he would catch up, before he approached Thace’s desk.

“I finished your book,” he said as he handed it to him. “I liked it.”

Thace gave a small smile as he took it. “I see, I’m glad.” He pushed out his chair and placed the book back on the shelf. “Is there another book you would like to borrow?”

Keith chewed his bottom lip and shook his head. He didn’t want to push it too hard. “Thanks, but I’ll take a break for now.” He rubbed his neck. “Is it okay if I borrow one later though?”

“It is, you just need to let me know so I can keep track,” Thace said as he returned to his desk. “On another matter, was today to your liking?” He frowned. “I got the feeling you were a bit nervous.”

Keith blushed and gripped the straps of his backpack. “Um..I was a bit, but I’m not as much anymore.”

Thace nodded as he folded his hands onto his desk. “I’m happy to hear that.” His eyes narrowed. “With that said, Keith, as your teacher I am here to help you.” He leaned over the desk. “If you ever feel you need help with anything you are more than welcome to come to me.”

Keith frowned, but nodded. “Okay, I’ll remember that.”

“Keith, you done yet?” Lance said as he poked his head into the room. “Come on! I want to go home and play with Blue already.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Keith told his teacher goodbye before he left and joined the others in the hallway.

“What was that about?” Hunk asked.

“Nothing,” Keith shrugged, “he just lent me a book and I was giving it back.”

“Huh,” Pidge muttered as she placed her hands behind her hand. “He seems a bit strict for a teacher.”

“That’s because he’s a ninja teacher,” Lance commented with his arms crossed. “How else do you explain he saw us playing the game this morning?”

“He’s also nice,” Hunk added as he poked Pidge’s shoulder. “Any other teacher would have just taken your guys game away instantly. You’re just mad you two got caught.”

“I’m with Hunk,” Keith replied as he tucked his hands into his pocket. “Mister Thace is nice, strict sure, but he seems way better than other teachers I’ve had. Trust me.”

Lance and Pidge grumbled, as they headed out the door and into the yard. Keith glanced over his shoulder and saw Thace stare at them through his window. He gave them a wave and Keith found himself himself giving a wave back.

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Thace watched the children go as he heard Kolivan entered the classroom.

“How did it go?” Kolivan asked as he stood next to him.

Thace gave a small smirk. “The children would have rather been outside, but that’s to be expected on the first day of school.” He glanced back out the window. “As for those four, uneventful, which hopefully we can keep that way.”

“We might not be able to,” Kolivan stated as he pulled out a file from underneath his arm.

Thace took it and opened it. Photos were inside of a large man with an eyepatch entering the town library. “What’s this?”

“There’s a new person in town,” Kolivan stated. “Antok pulled him over for speeding. He gave him a warning, but he felt suspicious and had him followed.”

Thace picked up the photo for a closer look. “Any particular reason for the suspicion? Just because he’s new in town doesn’t mean he’s an enemy.”

“No, but he hardly gives the impression of a passing tourist,” Kolivan stated. “Antok just had a bad feeling about him.”

Thace couldn’t argue with that. Antok’s gut was usually spot on for this kind of thing as well.

“He’s name is Samuel Sendak,” Kolivan continued. “I’m having Ulaz looking into it further, but I wanted to make certain you knew-”

“To keep my guard up in case he came near the children,” Thace concluded and Kolivan confirmed with a nod. “Understood. I’ll keep my eyes sharp until we know further.”

“Thank you,” Kolivan said and sighed as he rubbed his neck. “Now, I have papers to fulfil, but afterwards want to join me and Antok for a drink?”

Thace gave a chuckle. “I’ll have to pass this round. I promise Ulaz I would stop by his place later to help mend his fence.”

Kolivan nodded as he patted Thace’s arm. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

Thace said his goodbye as he watched Kolivan leave. He took one more glance at the photos before putting them into his briefcase.

“I sincerely hope Antok’s gut is wrong this time,” he muttered before he shut his briefcase.  
“Worrying about a potential attacker is not the way I wished to start the school year.”

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Keith had gotten a ride home with Pidge and Coran. Upon reaching the front porch, Red pounced and nearly knocked him over.

“Hey, Red,” Keith complained, but the cat ignored it as she sniffed him over like she was inspecting for any injuries. 

He sighed and gently picked up Red in his arms. “I’m okay, I only went to school.”

“She’s probably not use to it,” Shiro said as he poked his head out the door. “Red’s been pacing back and forth for an hour.”

Red flicked her ears and then nuzzled her head under Keith’s chin. The boy frowned as he got up while still holding Red in his arms. Yeah, that made sense. As far as Keith knew, Red spent all of her life in the woods. She probably thought him going to school was weird.

“Come on in,” Shiro encouraged as Black poked her head between his legs. “Allura dropped by with fresh cider from her orchard and I was heating it up on the stove.”

Keith entered and could smell the warm cider from the kitchen as he shut the door. He then noticed a second smell and wrinkled his nose. “Did you try to bake again?”

Shiro gave a sheepish grin. “Um...I tried to bake brownies.” He gestured to the plate of the pile of charcoal squares. “Didn’t turn out very well. So, I ended up picking up some cookies from Hunk’s store.”

Keith picked up a brownie, nibbled and put it back. He suddenly felt very grateful for the existence of Hunk’s bakery. Judging by how Black sniffled and sneezed when she poked her head over the counter, he had a feeling so were the cats.

“Is that all you did?” Keith asked as he pulled up a chair. “What about your article? You said you were going to the library, right?” 

Shiro waved his wooden spoon in his face. “Never mind me, tell me how your day went.”

Keith leaned against the counter. “It was...good.”

Shiro looked up with a small smile. “Yeah? No problems with your new teacher.”

Keith shook his head. “Naw, at least so far. Although, I swear the guy has eyes on the back of his head.” He turned around and pointed to his own head. “I swear, somehow he knew Pidge and Lance were playing a video game without looking.”

Shiro laughed as he took the pot off the stove and turned off the heat. “Sounds like he’s just has a lot of experience dealing with kids.” He set the pot aside and gave Keith a hug. “With that said, I’m glad you had a good day, Kiddo. I’m proud of you.”

Keith hugged back, and could feel both Black and Red rubbing against his legs.

“Want to grab me some mugs?” Shiro said as he let go. “Might as well drink it while it’s hot.”

Keith nodded and went to the cupboard. As he brought out two large mugs, a book on the counter caught his eye. “You got a book on folklore?”

Shiro nodded as he got some cookies and put them on a plate. “It’s the same book Uncle Yoshi use to have. I’m hoping it’ll have some information on our furry friends here.”

Keith looked over to Red who tilted her head back at him. “Think you’ll find out how Blue was able to grow so big before?”

That had been something he had wondered since their incident with the hunters a few months back. None of the other cats had turned into a full size lion like Blue did, although none of them had been put into any danger to justify it.

Shiro shrugged. “Don’t know, but that’s my issues to deal with.” He poured the cider into mugs and placed them on the table. “You just focus on dealing with your new school, alright?”

Keith gave a pout. He was tempted to argue it was rather hard to not think about it since they lived with two magical cats, but decided to drop the topic for now. He sat at the table and sipped his cider as he proceeded to tell Shiro about the rest of his day.

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Elsewhere in a hotel room, Sendak looked over his file. He knew the cats Zarkon wanted were in hiding, pretending to be normal pets if all things. Unfortunately, Nyma and Rolo had gone into hiding before they had obtained the names, but Sendak knew it wouldn’t be difficult to deduce which cats were the cats of the spring Zarkon wanted.

It was a small town and it was only a matter of time before the cats slipped up and revealed themselves. Besides, it made things more fun that way and he already had a possible lead.

He looked to the list of books he had wished to looked up and his eyes landed on the title Shiro had checked out. “I doubt you and I requiring the same information was a coincidence,” he muttered with a grin. 

The fact that his current target was a former soldier himself had only increased the fun.


	4. Chapter 4

The first week of school passed within a blink of an eye, and before Keith realized it it was Saturday. The kids had decided to gather at the orchard. Hunk had gotten his hands on an old plane his dad found, and Pidge had been determine to repair it. They were going to attempt it’s first official test flight at the orchard.

Keith didn’t think it was a wise place to test with all the trees around them, until Lance pointed out that it was safer than at his place.

“It would probably get eaten by one of the goats depending where it landed,” Lance commented. “Besides, the orchard is a bigger place than yours.”

Keith couldn’t argue against that, and thus found himself appearing entering the clinic with Shiro, and both Black and Red behind him.

Allura opened it with a huge smiling, and for some reason, he sensed she had an ulterior motive. “Shiro, I’m glad you’re here,” she said as she held out sheet with listed names. “I’m already getting calls from parents asking when soccer practice starts.”

Keith blinked as they entered and looked to Shiro. “Soccer practice?”

Shiro gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed his neck. “Yeah, Allura asked me to be the assistant coach for it.”

Keith blinked and tilted his head. “Why?”

Shiro shrugged. “Well, I thought you and I could have some fun with it.”

“Ah, okay,” Keith said as he bent to pat Red, but then paused. “Wait…’You and I’?”

Shiro kept his sheepish smile as Allura looked between them. “I’m assuming you haven’t told him yet?”

“No, I totally forgot,” Shiro admitted.

“Forgot what?” Keith asked with a glare and Red growled.

Shiro kneeled to be at eye level with him. “Allura told me that Lance, Hunk and Pidge are part of a soccer team and I thought you would enjoy it too.”

Keith arched an eyebrow. “Shiro, I’ve never played soccer.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Shiro replied.

“And it’s a lot of fun,” Allura said as she clapped her hands. “Pidge loves it.”

“No I don’t,” Pidge commented as she entered in the room with Green on her shoulders. “I only play because you, Dad and Coran say I should.”

“It’s good for you to get some exercise,” Allura commented with a smile. “And your father agrees.”

Pidge rolled the eyes before looking to Keith. “Just agree to it, this way I don’t have to suffer alone.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Allura said as she patted Pidge’s hair. “You do enjoy parts of it.”

“I like it when we go out for pizza afterwards, but that’s it.” Green growled in agreement.

“If this is suppose to convince me to join, it’s not working,” Keith commented dryly.

Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just give it a chance, kiddo. Worse case, if you don’t like it you can quit after a month, alright?”

Keith looked to Shiro, pouted and sighed. “Alright, fine.”

“Great, now that’s settled,” Pidge said as he yanked Keith by his arm. “Come on, I’m dying to fly this thing, but Hunk insists we wait for you and Lance.”

Keith let Pidge drag him away as Red followed close behind and out the door.

Shiro and Allura watched them leave before they resumed talking again. “Sorry, about that,” Allura said as Black hopped up onto her counter and poked at her box of cat treats. “I thought you had told him about it.”

“It’s okay,” Shiro commented as he reached for the box and got out a couple for Black. “My fault, I meant to tell him the other day, but it slipped my mind.” He reached into his bag and pulled out the book. “I was busy flipping through this thing.”

Allura frowned as she gestured for Shiro to sit in a chair. “Were you able to find anything useful?”

“A lot of it is stuff we already know,” Shiro said as he sat and opened the book. “However, it does mention the ‘spirit world’ is often referred to as the ‘astral plane’ as well.”

Allura frowned as she folded her hands into her lap. “Interesting. Anything else?”

Shiro paused as he grasped his chin. “There’s another detail.” He glanced up to her. “Apparently, if the five cats were able to combine their powers, they can summon Voltron to return to the mortal world.”

Allura’s eyes widened. “You mean bring back the spirit that created the spring?”

Shiro nodded. “Granted, it doesn’t say what the reason would be, but I imagine it would have to be a major one.” He frowned. “Especially since it doesn’t mention what would happened to the cats afterwards.”

Black raised her head at that and held the same concern expersson. Admittedly, that’s what bothered Shiro the most. Perhaps the cats would stay the same, but it could also mean the cats could lose their magic or worse no longer exist.

Allura took the book and quietly flipped through the pages. “I wonder if whoever hired the hunters wishes to summon Voltron.”

“Possible but, I have a feeling they want the spring itself. Legends says it has the ability to grant a person power and immortality if they drink from it,” said Shiro as Black jumped into his lap.

Allura shut the book as the wrinkles in her forehead puckered. “You know, I’ve always been skeptical of magic even as a child.” She leaned back in her chair. “Everything can be explained by common sense or science, at least that’s what I always assumed, except my father insisted that I should keep an open mind.” Her fingers tapped on the cover. “Also, that all stories have a shred of truth in them.”

Shiro stroked Black’s ears in thought. “You..think he knew the cats were rea?.”

“I don’t know, but it does cause me me to wonder.” She raised her head up. “If the guardian cats and the spring are real, then are other stories of magic real as well? Are wizards and witches also real?”

“It’s possible,” Shiro said as he ran a hand through his hair. “Why do you bring that up?”

“Because it’s safe to assume this whoever is after the spring also believes magic is real as well,” Allura stated. “I’m just afraid he may have other access to magic we don’t know about.”

Shiro froze at that and felt Black rubbed her face into his chest. That was something Shiro really didn’t wish to think about.

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“Okay, so do we just turn this on and it starts flying?” Lance asked as he and Blue both poked at the plane.

Pidge sighed as she picked it up. Honestly, there were days she wasn’t certain if he was picking habits up from Blue or vice versa. “Not quite, we turn it on and we use the remote control.”

She held up the said remote as Green pounced on a leaf. “Hunk and I have been trying to fix the controls on this thing, and I think we got it to work.”

Keith held up the plane for a closer look and then lowered it so Red could see. “Where did your dad find this thing, Hunk?”

“Garage sale,” Hunk said as he took the plane. “Thought it be a good project for Pidge and I.” He fingered the wings. “We had to give it new wings and still not positive we got the right size for it.”

“Only one way to try it out,” Pidge said as she held out the remote. “Shall we take this thing-”

A squeak cut her off. The children and cats glanced down as they saw Chulatt blinking up at them with his big eyes.

Keith held back Red who looked ready to pounce on the mouse. “Allura really needs to get a better cage for those guys.”

“Hey, little buddy,” Hunk cooed as he held out his hand. “Want us to take you back to your cage?”

Chulatt shook his head, ran up Hunk’s arm, over his shoulders, down the other arm and hopped into the driver’s seat of the plane.

Pidge frowned as she watched the mouse squeaked excitedly. “You..want to fly the plane?”

Chulatt squeaked and nodded.

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Lance commented as he reached in to pull Chulatt out. “You could fall out and get hurt.”

Chulatt squirmed and tried to nip Lance’s fingers before the boy yanked them away. Lance looked over his hands and then to Pidge. “Okay, he is definitely being stubborn.”

“The cats could probably yank him out,” Keith replied, “but I have a feeling Chulatt would just hop back in.”

Pidge had to agree. One of them could hold Chulatt, but he probably bite them. Allura’s mice could be amazingly stubborn when they wished.

“We could do a low test flight,” Pidge said as she looked to Chulatt. “Keep it low to the ground. Afterwards, Chulatt gets off and we try higher?”

She looked to the mouse who frowned, but then twitched his ears and gave a nod.

“Seems to have his approval,” Hunk said as he held up the plane. “Should we give it a go?”

Pidge beamed as she nodded and turned on the remote control. The propeller spun at high speed. The fly flew out of Hunk’s hands and Chulatt gave a salute as it took off into the air. Pidge tried to make certain the plane hovered just above the ground.

The cats looked intrigued as they watched the plane and when it flew by them they began to chase after it.

“You don’t think they’ll hurt Chulatt?” Keith asked, concerned.

“I don’t think so,” Pidge replied as she had the plane circle a trunk. “Green usually leaves the mice alone. I think they’re just playing-”

The controls suddenly went stiff and refused to move. Worst of all, it was pointed upwards.

“Uh oh.” Pidge looked up fearfully as the plane moved higher up in the air.

“Pidge, you’re going up too high,” Lance said as he pointed.

“The controller isn’t responding,” Pidge stammered as she tried to yank the controls free. “They’re stuck!”

“Oh no!” Hunk cried.

The children watched helplessly as the plane shot up in the air and suddenly did a loop did loop. Pidge prayed Chulatt was holding on tight, and by some miracle he was.

“What do we do?!” Keith asked as he looked to Red. “Can you guys do something?”

The cats looked up and growled. 

“I think that’s cat for ‘magic doesn’t work that way’,” Lance guessed.

“Too late for it anyway,” Pidge said as she pointed. “It’s going to crash!”

The plane spun and slammed directly into the branches of a nearby apple tree. Pidge dropped the remote as she dashed over with the cats and the other children at her heels.

“Chulatt! Chulatt!” Pidge called out. _Oh, please, PLEASE, be okay! I’ll never forgive myself-_

A squeak was heard as a small bundle of blue jumped off the branch and landed in the giant piles of leaves Coran had racked earlier. The children gathered around as Chulatt appeared, and shook his tiny head.

“Chulatt,” Pidge said as she scooped him up. “Are you okay?”

The mouse nodded rather enthusiastically. Then, must to Pidge’s annoyance, point to the plane still stuck in the branches, and then moved his arms like he was driving an invisible vehicle.

“What...is he doing?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If I were to guess,” Lance said as he picked up Blue to let her see, “he wants to fly the plane again.”

“No way,” Pidge stated firmly as she placed Chulatt on her shoulder. “I need my heart to recover from that scare I just had.”

“Yeah, same here,” Hunk added as he leaned against the tree trunk and Yellow fainted at his feet. “That..was not fun.”

The cats gave growls in agreement and Keith looked up. “So, question remains on how we get it down.”

Lance scratched his head. “Maybe we could hit it with a rock?” He shrugged. “It’s not super high up.”

“And risk breaking it further? No way,” Pidge replied sharply. They would be lucky if there was little damage after the crash.

“Well, what about asking the cats to go up there?” Hunk asked.

Pidge looked to Green who instantly ran up to the tree. She dug her claws into the trunk, jumped onto a branch and then another until she reached the plane. Pidge bit her lower lip as Green sniffed the plane and then gave it a sharp tug, but it refused to move.

Green growled and tried to yank harder, but it still wouldn’t budge.

“Stop it, girl,” Pidge called out as she waved her hands. “Looks like it’s stuck and I doubt you can do it without opposable thumbs.”

Green gave a snort before she let go of the plane and climbed back to the ground.

Pidge sighed as she scooped up Green into her arms. “Guess this means one of us has to climb up and get it.”

“Not me,” Hunk stated as he shook. “I hate heights.”

Keith looked up and shrugged. “I can get it.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You certain on that? You’re from the city, did they even have trees where you lived?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I use to climb a huge oak tree back at my old school. Was the only place to get any peace and quiet.”

“Oookay,” Lance said as he crossed his arms, “but you could still fall from there, dude.”

“Well, if he does,” Pidge said thoughtfully as she looked to the cats, “Red can probably catch him, right?”

Keith blinked. “What do you mean?”

Pidge shrugged as all eyes, even Chulatt, turned to her. “Well, I mean Blue saved Lance’s butt last summer. What’s to stop Red from saving you?”

“I think there’s a difference between Blue saving me from being thrown out of a truck and Keith falling from a tree,” Lance commented as Blue growled. 

“Besides, we don’t really know how that magic stuff works,” Hunk said as he looked to the cats. “And I’ve gotten the feeling the cats know as much as we do.”

_That’s true,_ Pidge thought as she stroked Green’s ears. Even with all of Allura’s testing she still hadn’t figured out how exactly Blue transformed and Blue hadn’t turned into a huge lioness again since then. The only thing they figured was that it was because Lance was in danger, but Pidge figured there was more to it than that.

“Anyway,” Keith said as he went to the trunk, “it doesn’t matter because I’m not going to fall.”

Red meowed as she tugged on Keith’s pant leg. 

“I’ll be fine,” Keith said as he ignored her. “You worry too much.” He yanked his leg free, but Red hovered not looking convinced.

Pidge couldn’t blame her. She recalled once Matt saying something similar after trying to jump over a couple of trash cans with his bike and broke his collarbone as a result.

Keith grunted as he reached the branch where the place was caught and carefully wiggled up to it. “Okay, just need a sec-Got it!” 

He gave a hard tug and held up the plane before tossing it to the ground. “Catch, Hunk!”

Hunk scrambled and made a dive to catch it. “Geez, take it easy on this thing.”

“Sorry, but easier to climb down if I don’t have it in my hands,” Keith called out as he began to climb back down.

“Okay, but just be careful,” Pidge said as Chulatt squeaked in concern and Red gave a growl as she clawed the trunk.

Keith sighed. “Guys, I’m not going to-”

The branch underneath Keith snapped and broke away. Keith yelled as he toppled and slammed into the pile of leaves below.

“KEITH!” the kids cried as they ran over. Red had beaten all of them and was already swiping away the leaves and checking the boy over.

Pidge’s heart froze as they say Keith lay motionless and with a dazed expression on his face. He then groaned and as he gripped his head. “Ow...that hurt.”

“Keith, are you okay?!” Pidge asked as Chulatt jumped off her shoulder.

“I..I think so,” Keith said as Red sniffed him and Green was doing the same.

“How many fingers am I holding?” Lance asked as he held up three.

“Three, I’m fine…” Keith paused as he reached to the back of his head and paled. “Why is it wet back there?”

Hunk paled as he looked behind. “Um...don’t freak out, but there’s blood.”

Keith’s eyes widened. “Blood?” 

“Let’s not panic,” Lance said as he held Blue tightly, although his hands were shaking a bit. “Um...we should go get one of the adults-”

“Is there something I can help with?”

The children and cats instantly growled at the strange voice. They looked up and saw a large man with an eyepatch standing next to one of the trees.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the man spoke as he approached, “but I was passing by when I heard the scream.” He knelt next to Keith and frowned. “Fell out of a tree did you?”

“Um...yeah,” Keith said as he gave a nod, “but I feel fine.”

The man said nothing as he reached inside his coat and brought out a handkerchief. Pidge only thought Coran bothered to carrying those things. “Press this at the back of your head,” the man instructed.

“You know first aid?” Pidge asked as Keith did as asked.

The man gave a crooked smile. “I use to be a soldier. Learning how to mend wounds became a required skill.”

Pidge frowned at that and it only increased as she heard a growl. Red hadn’t budge an inch from Keith’s side, and her eyes were locked directly onto the man.

“Intriguing cat you have there,” he commented as he reached out with a hand. Red swiftly responded with a hiss.

“Sorry, she’s protective,” Keith said as he wrapped an arm around her.

“I can see that,” the man looked to the other children, “and I imagine the same goes for the other felines here.”

Pidge heard a growl and glanced down to see Green sitting in front of her like a guardian. _Weird, I haven’t seen her get this tense since..Rolo and Nyma were hanging around._

Pidge’s eyes narrowed as she crossed her arm. “So, what exactly were you doing around here, mister?”

The man continue to smile and stare at the cats. “I was taking in the local scenery, and I must say you have some...interesting wildlife around here.”

“And what is that suppose to mean-”

“Keith!”

The children spun around as Shiro rushed up with Allura and Coran behind him. He instantly kneeled to Keith’s level. “What happened?” 

Black had dashed up and was growing at Red as they pressed their foreheads together.

“Should I call for an ambulance?” Coran stammered. “Or perhaps I should go get-”

“Coran, calm down,” Allura said as she touched his shoulder. “Panicking won’t help.”

A squeak caught Pidge’s attention and it was then she spotted Chulatt perched on Allura’s shoulder.

_Chulatt must have scampered off to fetch them,_ Pidge thought. _Smart mouse._

“He fell out of a tree,” Lance replied as Blue growled. “I told him it was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, yeah, nag me about it later,” Keith grumbled as Shiro inspected the back of Keith’s head and took a deep breath. 

“Okay, it looks worse then it probably is,” Shiro stated.

“That was my conclusion,” the man spoke.

Shiro looked up and paused as if he had only notice the man was actually there at the moment. “Sendak? What are you doing here?”

Pidge choked. “Wait, you know this guy?”

He didn’t seem like someone that would be a friend of Shiro’s.

“Merely an acquaintance,” Sendak said as he rose, “we met briefly at the library the other day. Didn’t we, Shiro.”

“Yes,” Shiro said as his eyes narrowed.

Pidge’s arched an eyebrow. She hadn’t known Shiro long, but she could tell he wasn’t fond of the guy. Shiro shook his head as he gently helped Keith to his feet. “We should take you the doctor. You’re probably going to need some stitches.”

Keith cringed. “Really?”

“It’s likely,” Shiro said as he placed a hand over Keith’s shoulder. “Red, Black, you two want to come?”

Red and Black growled in perfect unison, and didn’t waste a second chasing after them

“Would you like me to drive you?” Sendak said as he crossed his arms. “My car isn’t far.”

Shiro paused mid-step and turned his head. “Thanks for the offer, but we got it covered.”

“Ah, I see, I shall take my leave then,” Sendak said as looked to Allura and Coran as he tipped his hat. “Lovely orchard you have here.”

“Uh, thank you,” Allura muttered as she nodded, but turned her attention back to Shiro as he left. “Give us a call once you’re there?”

“I will,” Shiro said as he lead Keith towards the house. “Coran, would you mind giving me a hand here?”

“Certainly!” Coran declared as he followed.

Pidge gave them one more look as she looked back to where Sendak had vanished to. “Should I be concerned by the fact that guy was wandering on our private property?”

“The road isn’t far from here,” Allura chided as she wrapped an arm around Pidge. “It’s not uncommon for people to accidentally wander in here.”

Hunk frowned. “Still….I don’t know, something is strange about that guy.”

“The cats would agree with you,” Pidge said as she picked up Green who still looked ready for a fight. “I don’t like him.”

“Now, now,” Allura said with a smile. “We shouldn’t judge people by appearances.”

“Not even by fashion tastes?” Lance asked as he tilted his head. “Because that guy’s coat was mega ugly and my sister would call his hat a fashion disaster.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Allura said as she stood. “I believe we need a calm activity after that excitement. How about a board game?”

“As long as it’s not Clue,” Hunk said as he pointed. “Lance always cheat.”

“No, I don’t! I’m just really crafty.” 

Pidge rolled her eyes, but when Green gave another growl she started to feel that nagging feeling in her gut again that Hunk was right. Something was very strange about that guy.


	5. Chapter 5

Keith tried not to hug Red too tightly in his lap, but it was hard not to. Doctor offices always set him on edge. They were so silent to the point of being eerie. Seeing all the different medical equipment and knowing needles were tucked away somewhere made his skin crawl. It didn’t help matters it brought back memories to when his mom had gotten sick. 

Red purred in his lap to comfort the boy and Keith responded by petting the cat’s head. Keith had been surprised Doctor Ulaz and allowed him to bring in both Red and Black. He’d assumed the cats would have to wait in the car, but when the talk of stitches came up, Keith heard Shiro whisper that Red would help him be less nervous.

The doctor gave a silent nod, and Red hadn’t left his lap since. Keith’s head did hurt less, but he felt rather drained. He sighed as he scratched under Red’s chin. “Lance is going to hold this over my head, isn’t he?”

Red gave a meow which he assumed was a ‘Yes.”

Keith sighed as he picked up Red and looked at her in the face. “I didn’t think you would become a big lion to save me from that fall but...any idea on how exactly you turn into that?”

Keith had to admit, while he had assumed Red would have changed into if Keith was seriously in danger, a part of him had hoped perhaps the cat would.

Yet, as always when the discussion of magic came up, Red flicked her tail and her ears folded back. Keith had translated that being Red’s gestures for “Sorry, but I don’t know.”

“Thought so,” Keith said as he lowered her back into his lap. “Oh well, I’m glad you’re here anyway.” Red purred as she rubbed against his chest. “I’ll try to be more careful when I climb trees.”

Red’s head instantly went up as she growled.

Keith frowned. “Hey, you can’t stop me from climbing trees.”

Red growled again and gave him a stern look.

“You’re not the boss of me,” Keith argued.

“I see things are going well in here.”

Keith raised his head as Doctor Ulaz entered with Shiro close behind. “For the record, I would advise against any more climbing until that wound has fully healed.”

Keith gave a sheepish nod as Black hopped onto the bed and offered Keith her own purr.

“Are we all set to go home now?” Keith asked as he petted Black.

“I finished with the forms,” Shiro said as he wrapped an arm around Keith. “Just about.”

Doctor Ulaz finished writing on a form and handed it to Shiro. “Here’s a prescription for his medication and I would like to check in on how it’s healing after a few days.”

“We can do that,” Shiro said with a nod. “Thank you.”

The doctor nodded and frowned. “On that note, according to my files you are also overdue for a proper check up, Mister Shirogane.” He preached for a drawer and pulled out a file. “Since you’ve had your files transferred to me, I’ve been meaning to discuss with you on that.”

Shiro blinked and gave a sheepish laugh. “Uh..right, sorry, it’s just been a busy summer. I’ll try to book one later.”

Doctor Ulaz gave him a disapproving stare and Shiro fidgeted slightly.

“I’ll make an appointment with the receptionist on the way out?” Shiro offered.

“Please do,” Ulaz replied with a nod.

Keith snickered as he felt his cousin poke his side.

“Now, as for Keith,” Ulaz said as he tucked his hands into his pockets and kneeled. “You should be fine, but if you are experiencing any pain or dizziness please inform Shiro, alright?”

Keith nodded shyly. “Uh, yeah, I can do that.”

Ulaz nodded as he went to the counter and handed over the wet handkerchief. “One of my assistants soaked it in water for you. If you give it a proper wash you should be able to get the bloodstains out.”

Shiro frowned as he took it. “Thanks, although it’s not actually mine.”

Ulaz raised an eyebrow. “Oh? A friend’s then?”

“Naw,” Keith said as he felt Red growl. “Some guy we just met called Sendak.”

Ulaz’s eyes widened slightly, but then narrowed. “Sendak..I am not familiar with that name,” he looked to Shiro, “and I try to be on familiar terms with everyone in this town.”

“He’s new, claims to be passing through,” Shiro said with a shrug. “He was walking by the orchard when Keith fell and gave us a hand.”

“Ah, I see,” Ulaz said as he eyed the handkerchief. “Do you plan on returning that?”

“I imagine if we see him,” Shiro said as Black pawed at this hand for a pat, “but I have no idea when that would be. He kind of pops out of the blue if you catch my drift.”

Ulaz frowned and gave a nod before he offered a hand to Keith to help him down. “Well then, I’ll let you be on your way. Call my office if you have any lingering questions.”

“I will,” Shiro said with a grateful smile. “Thanks again.”

“It’s my job,” Ulaz said as he waved. 

Keith kept Red in his arms as they left, Shiro made the promised appointment at the desk and they climbed back into the car in the parking lot. 

“Sorry,” Keith mumbled for the tenth time. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Shiro pulled him into a hug as Black yawned from the back seat. “Accidents happen,” he said as he kissed on top of Keith’s head, “but I would like you to be a bit more careful in the future.”

Keith gave a nod as Shiro released him and stroked Red’s ears. “Are we going to return Sendak’s handkerchief?”

Shiro sighed as he rubbed his neck. “We probably should, but I’m not going to bother to hunt the guy down.”

Keith frowned as Shiro started up the engine. “You don’t like him?”

Black poked her head from the backseat as she looked up to Shiro.

“I barely know him, so I don’t have an opinion,” Shiro said as they pulled out onto the street, “but...something about him rubs me the wrong way.” He shook his head. “Anyway, how about we get some ice cream. I think we both deserve some.”

Keith gave a quiet nod as he leaned back in the chair and stroked Red who was still giving subtle growls.

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Once he was alone, Ulaz locked the door and called Thace’s number on his phone. He sat in his chair as he heard it ring and answered.

“Hi, Ulaz,” Thace greeted. “I didn’t expect to hear you until the meeting tonight.”

“That’s because I have news that can’t wait for the meeting,” Ulaz said as he drummed his fingers on his desk. “Keith and Shiro were just in my office.”

There was a pause. “Are they alright?”

“Keith fell out of a tree and needed some stitches,” he heard Thace hold his breath, “but he’s fine.”

He heard a sigh of relief on the other end. Ulaz knew Thace cared about his students, and Keith was especially a special case.

“Wait, is that all you needed to tell me?” Thace said. “He is my student, but isn’t it against protocol to tell me this?”

Ulaz cringed. It was and he hated doing it, but he made an exception in this case. “The main reason I’m calling is because they had contact with Sendak.”

“What,” Thace growled. “When? How?”

“When Keith fell from the tree, Sendak was there to ‘offer assistance’.”

“Do you think it was planned?” Thace asked.

“From how Shiro described it, I sincerely believe it was a coincidence, but the fact remains he was nearby where the children were in the first place.”

He could hear Thace get up and start to pace. “Do you think Sendak suspects?”

“I don’t know,” Ulaz said as he rubbed his eyes. “From my understanding they barely know him.”

“Still, that’s concerning,” Thace muttered. “We’re going to have to increase surveillance.”

“Or finally explain the full situation to Shiro at least,” he said as he sat up. 

That had been what Ulaz had argued from the start. He could understand wanting to keep the children from knowing, Ulaz saw no reason to give Shiro the same treatment. He was a full adult, and in Ulaz’s experience the more knowledge you have the better you were able to prepare for it. He just wished Kolivan shared the same opinion.

“You know Kolivan doesn’t want to do that,” Thace replied back. “But if Sendak keeps getting trying to get in contact with them we might not have a choice.”

“Indeed,” Ulaz said as he glanced to the clock. “I need to see my next patient, but please inform Kolivan and Antok for me.”

“Alright, and I’ll see you at the meeting?”

“As long as I have no more emergencies yes,” he said, “take care and..be careful.”

“You too. Knowledge or death.”

“Knowledge or death,” Ulaz finished before he hung up and went to let his next patient in.

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Back in his room, Sendak leaned back in his chair as he dialed his phone. It barely rung before he heard it was answered.

“State your progress,” Zarkon’s voice growled.

“I have believed to have located the cats and their ‘owners’,” Sendak replied firmly.

“Were you able to obtain them?” Zarkon asked.

“No, not yet, Sir,” Sendak said as he sat up. “Given we have little information on the cats’ abilities I will not make the same mistake as Rolo and Nyma.” He reached for his bottle of rum and poured himself a glass. “If I attempt to take a cat directly it may cause the creature to take that ‘bigger form’ they mentioned and thus would be much harder to captured.”

There was a pause. “Noted, what is your plan then?”

“I shall observe them,” Sendak as he picked up his glass, “and see if I can discover a weakness I can use to my advantage.”

“Very well,” Zarkon said. “I shall trust your judgement, but this better not take long. I am not getting any younger.”

“Do not worry, Sir,” Sendak replied with a firm nod. “I swear I will not fail you.”

“You better,” Zarkon said before he hung up.

Sendak sent down the phone, before he leaned back and took a sip of his drink. Obtaining the cats would not easy, but if he were to take the creatures by surprise, it would likely become a fairly simple task.

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Red felt on edge. She had felt that way ever since she encountered that ‘Sendak’ man over a week ago. His scent had instantly reminded Red of predators and she knew her sisters shared this sentiment.

They thankfully had no more sightings of him since Keith’s fall, but they could not feel at ease. When the children had gone off to school and Shiro seemed preoccupied with writing on that strange ‘laptop’ thing, they held a meeting at Blue’s home.

They all sat up in the higher level of the barn. Red tried to ignore the sounds of the goats bawling outside. It was noisy, but they wouldn’t be disturbed up here. Although she wasn’t quite certain why the mice were here.

She glanced over to where Platt was napping, Chuchule and Plachu were climbing up Black’s back, and Chulatt was chasing some dust bunnies with Blue.

_Why are they here?_ Red growled as she flicked her ears.

_Because they’re fun,_ Blue growled as she playfully caught a dust bunny and nuzzled it’s head. _Also, they calm the other forest spirits._

_Given who they are, it’s only natural_ , Green commented as she rolled onto her back. _Are we going to discuss the topic at hand?_

Red batted a spirit away as she stood. _The man called Sendak, he’s suspicious to me._

_I agree,_ Green growled. _He didn’t smell right._

_He did help Keith though,_ Yellow commented as she flicked her ears and let Chulatt crawl up her back. _Is it possible we are merely being paranoid?_

_That is true,_ Black commented as she let the forest spirit jumped over her tail. _But we can not afford to make any mistakes. We must keep our guards up._

_That is easier said than done,_ Red replied and looked to Blue. _I would feel more secure if we had a better grasp understanding on how to transform._

_I told you, all I know is that I wished to protect Lance,_ Blue replied.

_There must be more to it than that,_ Green replied. _You and Lance have the strongest bond among us, perhaps that has an influence on it?_

Blue shut her eyes. _That is very possible. Somehow, Lance was able to sense I was in danger._

They all nodded at that. Somehow, Blue had been able to mentally contact Lance. It was clearly magic, but it was a kind they never had before.

_I wonder,_ Yellow meowed as she raised her head. _Could it go the other way?_

_You mean, could the children contact us the way Blue did for Lance?_ Green purred at the thought. _It’s possible._

_We’re getting off track,_ Red growled and tried to ignore the dust bunnies that were hopping around her. _What do we do about Sendak?_

_There is not much we can do,_ Black voiced. _We don’t know what his intentions are and until we do, all we can do is guard our humans and keep them close._

_Perhaps whatever he wants doesn’t involve them,_ Blue voiced hopefully. _He’ll just leave without any issue._

Red growled. She wanted to believe that, she really did. Yet, she found that she could not let go of her fears.

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At the same time, Keith was concentrating on getting Red’s eyes just right in his sketch. After the third time, he gave a sigh as he erased them and tried again. Eyes shouldn’t be this hard, but granted he never gave much thought to them before.

“Shouldn’t you be reading?” Lance whispered from over his book. “It’s study period.”

“Read the chapter last night,” Keith whispered back without looking up. “Besides, you’re one to talk.” He turned his head. “Which issue of Altea Woman is that? 15?”

Lance pouted as he went back to the comic hidden inside his book. “16, and I finished the chapter already.”

Keith gave a smirk as he went back to his sketch. “Wish I could get the eyes right.”

“I might suggest drawing the eyes to be more narrow.”

The boys jumped as they glanced up to see Thace looming over them from behind. Keith’s shoulders dropped. He still wasn’t use to how this teacher could sneak up on him like this. Maybe he was part ninja.

“The eyes?” Keith asked.

Thace pointed. “The eyes of a cat tend to be a bit narrow.” He looked to Keith. “I suggest try to draw from a reference in future. A photo often helps. It can be rather difficult to rely on memory alone.” He patted Keith’s shoulder. “With that said, you do have a good start here.”

Keith blushed slightly as Thace moved passed them to the front. “Please put away your study materials, it’s time for science class.” He picked up a box. “And we’re going to start by assigning your project this month. You’re going to be working in pairs.”

Several of the class’s hands sprang up, including Keith’s.

“Pairs that I have already selected for you,” Thace answered dryly and the hands quickly shot back down.

Keith drummed on his desk. He hoped this didn’t mean he would be working with someone he didn’t know. He barely knew any of the other kids in his class.

“I’ll be calling you by name, and then each pair will randomly pick a topic from this box,” Thace continued as he pointed to the box and picked up a clipboard. “First off, Pidge and Hunk.”

“Yes,” Hunk muttered with a fist pump before he and Pidge walked to the front. “Hope we get something good.”

Thace held out the small box and Pidge stuck out her tongue as she reached inside. She looked at the piece of paper and grinned.

“How planes fly? Sweet!” Pidge shared a high five with Hunk. “We can totally nail this with our plane.”

Lance gave a pout as he slumped. “I feel like they got a way too easy assignment for them,” he whispered to Keith.

The boy shrugged, but didn’t have time to answer when Thace sent Pidge and Hunk back to their seats.

“Keith, Lance, you two are next,” he called.

Keith blinked and looked to Lance. So, they were partners? Okay, this could work. He quickly followed Lance up to the front and watched him reach into the box. The boy blinked at the paper and then gave a small grin.

“How tornadoes are made? That actually sounds cool,” Lance said.

“And as of this moment I am telling you I will take off a mark for every Wizard of Oz joke you try to make,” Thace remarked.

“Aw, that’s takes all the fun out of it,” Lance said with a pout.

Keith arched an eyebrow as he looked up to Thace. “That’s a weird rule.”

Thace placed the box on the desk. “It’s not when you have taught Lance’s older siblings.” He shook his head. “The amount of puns his brother made with his water desalination project was endless.”

“I helped,” Lance beamed with pride. “You’re just salty over the good jokes we made.”

Thace groaned as he gestured them back to their seats. “You only further prove my point,” he said darkly. “Shay, and Nicole you are next!”

Keith tuned out Thace and the girls as he climbed back into his seat. “So, any idea on how to do this?”

Lance shrugged. “Dunno, start reading about it? Want to work on it Saturday at my house after soccer practice?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Keith said as he looked over to Pidge and Hunk. “You guys want in?”

“Naw, we’ll probably go to Hunk’s place to fiddle with the plane more,” Pidge remarked and her eyes sparkle. “And now we got a legit excuse to work on it.”

“As if you weren’t going to make an excuse so you couldn't,” Lance teased.

Keith gave a smirked as he returned his attention back to Thace. Before long the other students were assigned, Thace continued with the lesson and it was time for lunch. Before Keith left, he stopped by his teachers desk and brought the latest book he had borrowed.

“Here,” he said as he handed it to him. “Not as good as the last one, but it was fun.”

“Glad to hear it,” Thace said as he took it and put it back on the shelf. “At the rate you’re going, Keith, I’ll be running out of books before it’s Halloween.”

Keith blushed as he went to the bookshelf and picked out another book. “Can’t help it. I’m a fast reader.”

Thace chuckled. “It was hardly a complaint,” he touched the boy’s shoulder. “How is your head? Has the stitches been removed yet?”

Keith nodded as he patted the back of his head. It had been a long week. Despite Ulaz reassuring Keith was alright to attend school, Shiro had Keith stayed home the first day to make certain. Once he’d been convinced that Keith wasn’t going to randomly start bleeding, Keith returned back to school like normal.

He got a few stares when he got back, but Keith ignored them. Although, he was glad when came for Ulaz to remove the stitches. He had briefly asked if they had returned the handkerchief to Sendak, which Keith found a little odd. Why would a doctor care about that?

They answered that they hadn’t since they hadn’t seen the man since then. Considering Shiro’s suspicions of the man, Keith wasn’t positive if that was a good thing or not.

“It’s basically all better now,” Keith said with a sigh. “And I’m glad, until it was healed I wasn’t allowed to play sports or anything.”

Thace nodded with a smile. “I’m glad to hear that and I was wondering if you have ever considered joining an art class.”

Keith glanced up. “Art class? Well, I’ve been to art class in school.”

“Those tend to be basic,” Thace explained, “but I believe you would benefit taking a more advanced class. It’s clear you are developing artistic skills and some practical lessons would help with that.”

Keith picked up a book called “The Tale of the Three Winds” and fingered the spine. “Um..maybe, I haven’t thought much about it.” 

Drawing was never something he paid that much attention to. Keith just tend to do it because it was better than just sitting still when people wanted him to be quiet. Except for his mom, Shiro was the first person that had encouraged him to do it more. Shiro had suggested art classes in the past, but Keith never took to the idea. He had enough on his plate to worry about.

It was weird to hear Thace suggesting the same thing. Keith was positive Shiro would instantly jump on board if he was around.

“Besides, I don’t have the time for it,” Keith added quickly as he looked to Thace. “I joined the soccer team and first practice is on Saturday.”

“Aw, I see,” Thace said as he nodded. “Perhaps later. It’s held every semester so perhaps in the winter would be better.”

Keith nodded as he tucked the new book into his backpack. “I should go and eat my lunch.”

“Yes, but before you do, one question.” Thace gave a wince as he rubbed his neck. “The soccer team you are joining...does that one have Allura as the coach?”

Keith blinked and gave a nod. “Yeah, and Shiro is being her assistant coach too.”

“Then...if I might offer some advice,” Thace said with a forced half smile. “Make certain you have good shoes.”

Keith wrinkle his nose. “Is there a reason why I wouldn’t?” Having good shoes for a sport was kind of common sense wasn’t it?

“No, but...you’ll be doing a lot of running,” Thace commented as he leaned against his desk. “Allura has...enthusiastic tactics.”

For some reason, Keith had a feeling that wasn’t a compliment.

“In any case, I’ll probably be seeing you there,” Thace said as he sat back in his chair. “I have some work to do and I might drop by to see how you kids are doing.”

“Oh..uh, okay.” Keith picked up his backpack and waved. “See you after lunch.”

Thace waved back and waited for Keith to leave before he brought out his cellphone. He dialed Ulaz’s number and it barely rung before it was answered.

“What is it?” Ulaz asked.

“Shiro and children are joining Allura’s soccer team,” he replied as he reorganized his papers. “First practice is Saturday.”

There was a pause. “I see,” Ulaz said slowly. “And you are planning on dropping by?”

“I figured it would be best, but thought having a second pair of eyes would be useful.” He frowned. “Although I could call Antok.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ulaz replied, “my clinic will be closed anyway. Any development from Antok?”

“I asked him this morning,” Thace said as he leaned back. “So far, Sendak seems to be keeping to himself.”

“...I don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign.”

Thace had to agreed. It either meant he wasn’t bothering with the children at all or he was buying his for the right moment. He knew Kolivan still thought it was best to keep Shiro in the dark, but Thace was seriously having doubts.

“In any case, I’ll be there,” Ulaz continued. “I sincerely hope those children realize what they’ve gotten themselves in for.”

Thace raised an eyebrow. “You mean the cats?”

“No, having Allura as a coach,” he heard him click his tongue. “I recall how exhausted the kids were last year after their first day of practice.”

“Ah,” Thace said and nodded in agreement. “Hopefully they have good stamina.”


	6. Chapter 6

Keith wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the first soccer practice. He and Shiro were one of the first people to arrive. Keith had thought Red and Black would stay behind, but both of them hopped into the car and insisted to tag along.

Deciding it was better to not argue, Shiro allowed them and they rode in the backseat with Keith. Once they got there, Keith spotted Hunk with Shay chatting on the bench. He also spotted Yellow hiding and peeking her head out from underneath it.

Not long after, Lance appeared with his older sister and Blue in tow. Next a few other kids arrived, and then Allura appeared with both Pidge and Green.

_Guess the cats are curious about soccer,_ Keith thought as he glanced to Red. _Although, I can’t imagine it’s that exciting._

Allura waved to them with a smile. “Glad to see you made it,” she said as she handed Shiro a clipboard. “Here’s a list of the names of the children who signed up.”

Shiro took the list and flipped through it. “Looks like you got a good number of kids.”

“Sure, for now,” Pidge said with a smirk was she tucked her hands behind her hands, “but we always get some kids dropping out after the first day of practice.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Shoulder I be concerned?”

“That normally does happen,” Shiro said as they moved closer to the field. “Why don’t you catch up with Lance and Hunk while I set up with Allura?”

Keith nodded as he quickly followed Pidge. Lance waved to him from his seat as he fiddled with a dandelion for Blue to paw at. “Hey! Ready for a morning full of drills and exhaustion?”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that an exaggeration?”

“Not with Allura,” Pidge said as she pointed back to her. “You know how carried away she gets with being a coach.”

Keith pouted as he folded his arms. “Okay, I’m going to regret asking this, but what do you mean by ‘carried away’?”

Lance said as he let Blue catch the flower and toss it in the air. “Basically Allura is a bit too excited for this game?”

“She acts a bit more like a drill sergeant,” Hunk retorted as he leaned back to look up at the sky. 

“So...she’s a bad coach?” Keith asked as Red came over to poke at Blue.

“Not so much that, I mean we do win games,” Pidge replied and sighed, “it’s just her method takes a lot of work to get there.”

Before Keith could ask for more details, a sharp whistle caused him to whirl around and saw the source was Allura.

“Alright, children gather around and we’re going to do a roll call before we begin,” she called out.

Lance rose and crossed his arms. “Not going to lie, but I’m looking forward on working on our project after this.”

Keith frowned. “Any particular reason?”

Lance pointed ahead. “Because I’ll need something quiet to let my body recover from doing this today.”

Keith followed, and briefly wondered if perhaps he should just join the art club.

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“Alright, I am so delighted to see not only familiar faces from last year, but also some brand new ones.” Allura beamed at Keith in particular before she clapped and gestured to the goalie net. “Most of you know me as Doctor Altea, but you can just refer to me as ‘Allura’ while I’m your coach and let’s start by seeing who should be this year’s goalie.”

One boy in the back raised his hand. “How do we do that?”

“With a simple test,” Allura said with a proud grin. “A person stands in front of the net while the rest of you kick balls at him or her to see how many balls can be blocked.”

Silence followed, and Keith noticed Shiro choked a little.

“That..sounds a lot more like dodgeball,” he commented.

Allura frowned in confusion. “What? No, in dodgeball you’re trying to avoid being hit but in this test the person is trying to be hit by as many balls possible to block them.”

“That REALLY doesn’t make it sound that much better,” Keith retorted.

“Give it up,” Pidge muttered into his ear. “She does this EVERY year and we have yet to get her to change her mind about it.”

Keith cringed, but gave a nod as he returned his gaze ahead.

“Just think of it like a game,” Allura continued. “You’re being attacked and you need to defend your castle with your body.” She tossed a hand up in the air. “Let fear be your guide!”

Keith tilted his head. “Let fear be our guide?”

Allura nodded. “Fear can be a very good motivator in the right circumstances and it’s perfect for this scenario.”

Shiro didn’t look as convinced as he crossed his arms. “Um...that seems a bit extreme for soccer...with kids that are only 10.”

“Nonsense, it’s a good way to teach them how to survive,” Allura said and blew into her whistle. “First up, Hunk let’s try you as goalie.”

Hunk groaned as he stepped up. “Why is it always me?” he grumbled.

“Because you’re curse?” Lance added dryly as Hunk walked up to the next.

Keith heard a concerned meow and glanced out of the corner of his eye. The cats were all still watching from underneath the bench on the side of the field. He had been slightly concerned they would insist on sitting next to them on the field, but so far they appeared to be staying put.

Still, Keith wasn’t certain that would still be the case once this goalie test started going. Hunk looked nervous as he got to the net. “Any case we can just be a ping pong team instead?”

Allura ignored him as she brought out the sack of balls and spread out a line of them. “Alright, you six in the front can kick balls this round.”

Keith glanced and it dawned on him that the ‘six’ he was referring to were him, Lance, Pidge, Shay and two other girls he didn’t know. He rose and approached the line of balls with the other kids.

“Alright,” Allura said and blew into her whistle that made Keith’s ears cringe. “Start kicking!”

Keith kicked the ball and winced as it saw it soar towards Hunk. To his amazement, Hunk caught it and blocked it from getting in. However, panic filled his face as Lance’s ball came and he move to catch it too. Pidge’s ball made it through, but Hunk slid to catch Shay’s although it was at the cost of another ball getting by over his head. Yet, with a triumph grunt, Hunk managed to catch the last ball and collapsed as Allura blew her whistle.

“Excellent work, Hunk!” she praised. “You did very well.”

Hunk panted as he flopped onto his back. “I’m not sure my heart can take this pressure.”

Keith looked to the cats. To his relief Yellow looked content and not the least bit agitated. 

Keith leaned over to Lance. “Hunk did way better than I was expecting.”

Lance smirked as he whispered back. “Hunk was the goalie last year too, and he was awesome. He just hates the stress the comes with it.”

Shiro kneeled and helped Hunk to his feet as he handed him a bottle of water. “Let’s give another kid a turn.”

Allura gave a frown, but then nodded. “Yes..um...Keith! Let’s see how well you are at being goalie.”

Keith froze and locked eyes with Shiro. He was good at running and dodging, but he had never tried to block things before.

Shiro gave him an encouraging nod as he gestured to the net. Just give it a try, buddy.”

Keith sighed and switched off with Hunk at the net. Allura set out more balls for the kids to kick while Hunk went to sit down behind them. A growl caused Keith to turn his head. He spotted Red sitting up at full alert as her tail waved back and forth.

“I’ll be fine,” he mouthed to her before he returned his attention back forward.

“Alright,” Allura shouted as she blew into the whistle and Shiro covered his ears. “Start kicking!”

Lance was the first to kick. Keith prepared to catch it except a red blur blocked it for him. Keith blinked dumbly until growling awoke him from his stupor. He glanced down and saw Red had caught the ball and was hissing at Lance for kicking it.

Before anyone could comment another ball came flying, and Red jumped into the air and caught it too.

“Um..” Keith began uncertain what to do.

Another ball came and Keith tried to catch it, but Red beat him to it. This repeated until each ball had been kicked, and Red caught them effortlessly. Once she saw the children were staring in awe, Red growled and rubbed herself around Keith’s legs possessively.

“Um...Shiro? Allura?” Keith said as he pointed. “Does..this count?”

“I...don’t think so,” Allura said as she looked as equally stunned as Keith felt.

“Does this mean the cat should be the goalie?” Shay asked as she tilted her head. “She did catch each ball.”

“If Red gets to be goalie, then Blue should totally play too!” Lance declared.

“I don’t think the league are going to accept cats as actual players,” Shiro replied calmly.

“Tell that to the cats,” Hunk said as he pointed to the other cats who were now watching with great interest.

Keith said as he felt Red purr against him. “This is going to be a long season.”

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Thace had to keep himself from laughing from his spot near the bleachers. He knew the soccer practice would be a sight to see, but he never imagined the addition of the cats could make things so..entertaining.

“May I ask what is so amusing?”

Thace glanced behind him, and greeted Ulaz with a smile. “Glad to see you made it,” he said and pointed. “As for your question, merely look towards where the children are.”

Ulaz did, and paused. “Are the cats catching the balls?”

Thace nodded as the watched the children laugh with glee as Green jumped to pounce on an incoming ball. “Yes, from what I saw, it started when Keith attempted to be goalie and his cat felt the need to ‘protect’ him.”

Ulaz went quiet as Allura for the fifth time tried to herd Blue and Black off the field, but they escaped and went to tackle more of the balls. Shiro tried to assist, but the man seemed to have little control as he tried to hold back his own laughter.

Ulaz gave a low chuckle as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Oh dear, that will cause things to be a challenge for them.”

“Indeed,” Thace stated and frowned. “Any luck convincing Kolivan?”

“None yet,” Ulaz replied as he rubbed his neck. “Although, I believe Antok is beginning to argue we should inform Shiro as well.”

Thace crossed his arms. “Did he have something new to report?”

He swore if Sendak had gone near the children-

“Nothing blatant,” Ulaz replied, “but he has been more active around town. He keeps to himself, but he has been spotted around the bakery.”

_That’s where Hunk and his family live,_ Thace thought with alarm.

“He’s never approached it, but he is often across the street at the coffee shop,” Ulaz continued. “He can’t help but find that suspicious and I agree..”

Ulaz trailed off and his eyes widened as if he just spotted a ghost.

“What’s wrong?” Thace asked.

“Over there, near the far end of the field where the path is,” he whispered.

Thace looked and cursed. Sendak was there sitting on a bench and reading a newspaper. 

“What’s he doing here?” Thace whispered.

“From the looks of it, reading the paper,” Ulaz muttered darkly as he looked to where the children were. “However, I wager there’s another reason.”

“Doesn’t change the fact he’s on school property,” Thace replied as he walked. “We best tell him that.”

“Agreed,” Ulaz said as he glanced to where the children, “but I have a feeling we’re not going to go unnoticed.”

0808080808080808080808080808080808080

Shiro huffed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and placed Red on the bench next to Green, Yellow and Blue. “Okay, you guys have got to stay here.”

Red growled sounding not the least bit impressed before she tried to dart off again. Thankfully, Black blocked her path and growled back at her until she sat down. Shiro sighed as he scrubbed his face with the back of his hand.

“I will never underestimate the phrase ‘like herding cats’ again,” he muttered.

He glanced back to Allura who looked like she had restored order over the practice, although the children kept looking towards the cats. No doubt they all wanted the cats to take over the practice again.

_As funny as it was,_ Shiro thought as he rubbed his neck and looked over the field, _I really don’t want the cats to make a habit of this._

If the cats continued to act like this, Allura was probably going to have to banned them from the soccer field all together. Shiro couldn’t imagine any of the cats taking that news well and Black couldn’t herd the cats forever. Besides, he was half certain Black wanted to catch the balls as much as the others did.

Lost in thought, he looked over the area and figured he should return to the others, when he spotted three figures at the end of the field. He saw Thace and Ulaz speaking to someone sitting on the bench, but he couldn’t tell who it was.

Shiro narrowed his eyes as he found himself drawn to the scene. 

“Stay here,” he told Black. “I’ll be right back, girl.”

Black meowed, but gave a soft growl as he left.

He wasn’t surprise to see Thace since he was a teacher here, but Ulaz being here was a surprise. As he got closer, Shiro realized their voices sounded tense.

The man they were speaking too had a hat covering his face until he lazily tipped it back and Shiro froze. It was Sendak. What the heck was he doing here?

Shiro felt more determine to discover what was going on as he approached.

“I don’t understand the issue,” Sendak said with a casual shrug. “Is it a crime to read the news?”

“As I stated you are on school property and we have strict rules about who is allowed to be here?” Thace said in a firm tone.

“Oh? And you have permission do you?” Sendak asked with a smirk.

Shiro frowned. So Sendak was just reading the paper? Shiro didn’t feel like he could trust the guy, but that didn’t exactly deserve hostile behavior.

“I’m a teacher here,” Thace replied.

“And I suppose the doctor teaches here too?” Sendak chided as he pointed to Ulaz. “I’ve seen his clinic or does he moonlight as a teacher on the side?”

“I’m a part time school nurse here,” Ulaz stated, “and I-”

Shiro cleared his throat. “Um, hey? There an issue here?”

Thace and Ulaz spun around, but didn’t looked shock to see him.

“Shiro,” Thace said and gave a quick nod of the head. “My apologies, I was hoping to resolve this quietly without disturbing your practice.”

Shiro shrugged. “You’re not, I’m the only one that noticed you three here.” He glanced to Sendak. “So, what’s the problem?”

Sendak gave a laugh as he leaned back on the bench. “Apparently, my very presence here is a problem.”

Thace shot a glare as Ulaz shook his head. “We were explaining to him we have strict rules on who is allowed on school property.” He shot Sendak a dark look. “Particularly those who are not part of the school staff or parents of the students here.”

Shiro nodded as he looked to Sendak. “Sorry, but they’re right. You’re not allowed to be here.”

Frankly, Shiro didn’t feel comfortable having him either, but he couldn’t say that feeling aloud.

Sendak gave a tight frowned, but then quietly folded his paper. “Very well, I shall leave and read somewhere else.”

Thace and Ulaz’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Thank you,” Ulaz asked.

Shiro put his hands into his coat pockets and paused as he felt a familiar cloth that had been in there for the last few days. “Before you leave,” he spoke as he held it out to Sendak. “Been meaning to return this.”

Sendak blinked in confusion until he spotted the handkerchief. “Ah, yes, that,” he replied as he took it. “Did the boy recover?”

“He has, thank you,” Shiro said as he glanced back to Keith.

Sendak looked to the field and gave a sly smile. “I must admit I certainly never expected to see cats joining in the game.” He adjusted his glove. “First time I’ve ever heard of someone bringing that many animals to a sport practice.”

Shiro swallowed. “Well-”

“This town is very friendly towards animals,” Thace quickly added, “especially cats. It’s not that uncommon around here.”

“I see, how...intriguing.” Sendak tipped his hat as he left. “Forgive my disturbance then, gentlemen.”

Shiro watched him go and didn’t speak until he was out of sight. “I must admit I never thought I would see him here.”

“Indeed,” Ulaz replied and sighed. “Once again, we do apologize for the interruption-”

Shiro held up his hand. “Naw, it’s fine. I would have done the same if I had seen him earlier.”

It rather bugged Shiro that he hadn’t noticed. He ran his hand through his hair. “Speaking of which, I should get back-”

“Shiro, wait,” Thace said as he grabbed his shoulder. “I was wondering if there was a night next week in which you would be free for a meeting?”

Shiro blinked and nodded. “Um..yeah, I can be, but what kind of meeting?”

Thace exchanged a look with Ulaz before clearing his throat. “I wish for us to discuss Keith’s progress in school so far.”

Shiro’s face brightened. For some reason he thought it was something for foreboding. “Oh, sure. Monday night, okay?”

He should be able to find someone to babysit. Keith could probably spend the evening with Pidge at Allura and Coran’s place.

“Monday would be fine,” Thace said with a nod. “I’ll see you in the classroom around 6.”

Shiro gave them a wave as he walked back. When he returned, he noticed all five of the cats had been staring at him the entire time.

“Nothing to worry about,” Shiro told them as he kneeled to pet Black. “Just had to tell someone to leave.”

Black’s eyes narrowed as she rubbed her head against his hand. Shiro gave a small smile and tried not to ponder the nag of worry inside him.

On the other side of the field, Ulaz looked to Thace.“You’re going to tell him, aren’t you?” 

Thace growled. “Whether Kolivan agrees or not, he needs to know.” He watched where Sendak had walked off. “I’m sensing this could become dangerous if we’re not careful.”

“Agreed,” Ulaz replied and shook his head. “Let us hope it won’t take much to convince Kolivan that.”

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Once the cats had been contained, practice had continued as normal. By the end of it, Allura decreed that both Shay and Hunk would be the best goalies for the team. Hunk wasn’t shocked by this, but he had been wishing he wouldn’t have to be a goalie again.

_Oh well,_ he thought as he sipped at his bottle of water, _at least I’m not out running in the middle of the game. Plus, Shay is one with me this year._

Lance flopped against the bench and didn’t flinch as Blue lay over his lap like a blanket.

“Glad to get that over it,” Lance said as he shut his eyes. “I never want to move again.”

Keith frowned as he scratched Red’s chin. “Don’t we have practice again next Saturday?”

“Dude, don’t ruin it,” Lance replied as he lifted his head. “I want to linger in the ‘I’m done and I can just feel tired’ moment.”

Keith poked his foot. “Don’t get too comfortable, we’re going to work on our project next right?”

Lance groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Shay giggled as she approached. “You two sound like brothers.”

Keith blushed and Hunk couldn’t resist smiling a little at that before looking to Shay.

“So, guess you and I are goalie buddies, huh?” he commented.

Shay nodded as she reached a hand out to Yellow. “Yes, it should be fun. I’m looking forward to it.” Yellow sniffed her hand and then bowed her head to let Shay scratch it. “With that said, are you going to bring your cats to every practice?” Yellow purred happily under her hand. “It was fun to have them here.”

Hunk sucked air through his teeth. “I...don’t know. I doubt Allura’s was thrilled to have them take over like that.”

“Yeah, bet Allura will ask we leave the cats home next time,” Pidge said as she held up Green. “Although, I doubt they will stay at home.”

Hunk had to agree as he glanced down to Yellow who was now asking Shay for a belly rub. The cats had a mind of their own. If there was some place they would want to go they would, and that wasn’t including the possibility of magic.  
 _Although, I wonder how much magic they can use,_ Hunk thought as he shut his eyes. _We know they can turn into big lions, but is that it? Can they do other kinds of magic? It’s not like we’ve seen them do anything else. Maybe they can’t do anything-_

“Hey, Earth to Hunk,” Lance said as he waved his hand. “You listening?”

Hunk blinked and shook his head. “Sorry, lost in thought.”

Shay gave a smile, but jumped as they heard someone call her name. “That’s Dad, I gotta go.” She waved to Hunk and smiled. “I’ll see you all at school and Hunk maybe later this week you can show me how to be a good goalie.”

Hunk’s cheeks felt hot as he blushed and nodded. “Uh, sure.”

Shay nodded before she scampered off and suddenly felt Pidge smirking at him.

“Aw, you got a girlfriend,” Pidge teased as she poked his arm.

Hunk scowled before he playfully brought her into a bear hug. “You’re just jealous that I don’t have to chase after the ball!”

Pidge laughed as she wiggled free. “Yeah, because waiting to have my face hit by a ball is way more fun!”

Hunk rolled his eyes as he picked up his bag and looked to Lance and Keith. “You guys want to come to my place? Pidge is coming over so we can work on our plane.”

Keith shrugged. “Thanks, but I’m heading over to Lance’s place.”

Hunk frowned and nodded. “Right, forgot you told us that already. Meet up tomorrow?.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Keith said as Red growled in his lap. He glanced over to where Shiro stood talking to Allura. “Wonder what they’re talking about?”

“Grown up stuff,” Lance declared as he sat up, “which means it’s probably boring.”

Pidge frowned as she placed her hands in her lap. “That reminds me, did you notice during practice Shiro was talking to Mr. Thace?”

The boys turned to her. “He was?”

She nodded and pointed to the other side of the field. “He was over there, with Doctor Ulaz and a third guy.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I couldn’t tell who it was, but he ended up leaving.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “That’s weird.”

Keith shrugged. “Not really since Thace did mention he would be around and Ulaz does work here too, right?”

“Yeah…,” Hunk muttered as he crossed his arm. That still didn’t explain who the third guy was. Who else would be here in soccer practice? He scratched his head. _Maybe I’m overthinking it._

“Guys, time to head home,” Shiro called out as he approached with Black behind him. “Keith, we’ll go home and get cleaned up, and then I’ll drop you off at Lance’s house, okay?”

“Sure,” Keith nodded as he stood and Red followed. “Talk to you guys later.”

Hunk waved, but found he was unable to concentrate as he looked back to where Pidge had pointed earlier.


	7. Chapter 7

Once they were back at the bakery, Hunk was going to suggest they work in his room, until he heard his sister’s music blasting from her room.

“Ah shoot,” Hunk grumbled as he covered his ears, “forgot Lisa invited her friends over today.”

Hunk didn’t mind his sister’s friends, but they always played their music far too loud. Even with his door shut, it made it hard to think.

Hunk glanced downward and noticed both Green and Yellow had their ears folded back as they covered their ears with their paws. “Maybe we should head to your place?” Hunk asked.

Pidge grimaced as she covered her ears. “Normally I say yes, but Coran is cleaning up the clinic.”

Hunk groaned. He knew exactly what that meant. If they stepped near the place Coran would be dragging them to help him wash the cages before they even realized what happened.

“Let’s go to the park,” Pidge replied. “Should get some peace and quiet there.”

Hunk pondered, debating if it was worth dragging all their pieces and tools there, when a heavy metal song started to play.

“Okay,” Hunk declared as he scurried to his room, “let’s head to the park!” He scrambled into the room and quickly collected everything into a large box. He picked up the toolbox, and froze when he spotted it open.

He cringed as he peeked inside and saw he was missing a screwdriver. “Dad, must have borrowed it and forgot to bring it back,” he muttered as he looked around. 

His father was busy in the store and Hunk didn’t want to bother him about it. Best thing to do was to snag his spare...but where did he put it?

He then heard a growl and glanced to the right. Yellow was sitting on the bed and leaned her head towards the top shelf where the spare screw driver was.

“Thanks, girl,” Hunk said as he patted her head, “now we just need to grab-”

The music grew louder and with it came either yelling or singing. Hunk wasn’t quite certain which it was, but it caused Yellow to hiss.

“I don’t like it either,” Hunk said as he climbed on the bed, “once I get the screwdriver we’re-”

Yellow suddenly twitched her ears and bright sparkles appeared around the tool. Hunk’s jaw dropped as the screwdriver rolled on it’s own and dropped off the shelf. The boy fumbled, but managed to catch it in this hands.

Hunk’s brain slowly registered at what just happened as he looked at his cat stunned. “You..just did magic didn’t you?”

Yellow growled before she jumped to the ground and tugged on Hunk’s pant legs with her teeth. 

“Okay, okay,” Hunk replied as he shook it free and dumped the screwdriver into the toolbox. “We’ll discuss this later.”

Yellow growled and raced out the door as Hunk picked up both the box and the toolbox.

_Guess she really hates heavy metal,_ Hunk thought as he shut the door behind him.

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“So, Yellow used magic to fetch a screwdriver?” Pidge said in disbelief as she fiddled with the plane’s wings. “This still feels loose.”

“Let’s try tightening the screws again,” Hunk said as he handed her the screwdriver, “and yeah. It was so cool!” He held up his fists as his eyes sparkled. “It was awesome! I wish I had a camera for it.”

As he said that, Yellow yawned from her spot next to Hunk and rolled over to take a nap.

“Yellow doesn’t seem to think it was so amazing,” Pidge giggled as she poked at the screws, “but I agree.”

Hunk frowned as he looked to Yellow and pulled back the toolbox as Green tried to poke at it with her paw. “I wonder why she hadn’t bother to do it before though?” He raised his head to Pidge. “First time I ever saw her do something like that.”

Pidge placed the plane in her lap as she chewed her bottom lip. “Well, maybe they prefer doing magic as a last resort?” She gave a shrug. “Magic can risk exposing them, so they just try not to use it.”

“Sounds about right,” Hunk said as he leaned back. “Guess that just shows how much Yellow does not like my sister’s taste in music.”

“That, or in Yellow’s case, she was just being lazy.” Hunk shot Pidge a look. “Hey, Yellow is the most laidback of the cats. You deny she wouldn’t do that?”

Hunk shut his eyes and leaned back. “No, guess you’re right. Lisa is always joking on how lazy she is too.”

Green tried to poke at the tool box again, until Pidge picked up some fallen leaves and tossed them in the air for her to chase. “Still, it’s kind of crazy, huh?” She paused to watch Green. “I mean, after what Blue did to save Lance, we knew our cats had magic, but to actually see smaller proof like that is another matter.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said slowly as he patted Yellow and she began to purr. The warmth of her fur got the chill off his hands, and she didn’t see to mind when Hunk kept his hand there. “I wish we could tell my family about it.”

Pidge went quiet as she set the plane aside. “Well...we don’t plan on keeping it secret. Allura wanted us to wait until-”

“Until we understood the whole magic thing better, I know,” Hunk replied as he rubbed his neck, “but that was back during the summer, it’s fall now.” He sighed. “It’s been bugging me. I get why we shouldn’t tell them, but I don’t like keeping secrets from them.”

He really didn’t. Whenever his parents or Lisa would make a joke about Yellow or pat her, Hunk felt guilty. They loved his cat as much as he did and it didn’t feel right keeping this part of it a secret from them.

Pidge’s eyes narrowed as Green caught a leaf in her mouth and brought it over to Pidge. “I’m not going to lie..but it’s been getting harder to keep it a secret from Matt.”

Hunk raised his head. “What do you mean?”

Pidge twirled the leaf in her hands. “Whenever we talk about Green, Matt knows I’m hiding something.” She left the leaf fall and Green caught it again. “We do live chats off the computer, and he can tell from my face, but he’s just pretending he doesn’t notice. He’s doing the whole ‘I’m the big brother so I’ll wait for you to tell me thing’. It drives me nuts.”

Hunk nodded. Lisa could be like that too, although Matt was often more observant than she was. “What about your dad?”

Pidge shook her head. “Not so much, but I know the second I tell him, he’ll want to take notes on everything like a mad scientist.”

Hunk snorted. “Like father, like daughter.”

Pidge scrunched up her nose and punched his arm. “Yeah, yeah, but..point is, I get it. This isn’t exactly something I feel comfortable keeping secret forever.”

Hunk nodded as he pulled his hand off of Yellow, but only caused the cat to placed her head into his lap. “I think, if Allura doesn’t learn anything else soon, we’re just going to have to tell them.”

Pidge looked up and nodded. “Yeah, and I think Lance would agree too.” She rubbed her eyes. “Just hoped they don’t freak out too much.”

“And now I’m curious on what exactly would cause that reaction?”

Green and Yellow sprang to their feet as Hunk and Pidge jumped in fright. They whirled around and Hunk cringed as Sendak grinned at them.

Green growled as Yellow stood up and hissed. “Um...how long have you been standing there?” he asked.

“Didn’t keep track,” Sendak said as he tucked his hands into his coat pocket, “but heard you two mention a secret.” He leaned over. “Call me curious, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of secret kids your age would need to keep.”

Hunk gulped as he gave a nervous laugh. “Oh..uh, just the recipe to my Grandma’s apple pie.” He gathered up Yellow in his arms. “It’s a well kept family secret, you know.”

Sendak chuckled. “Is that so?”

“In any case,” Pidge cut in and wrinkled her nose, “it’s not any of your business.”

Hunk shot her a look. _Pidge, please don’t tick off the very large adult we barely know._

Sendak leaned over the bench. “Now, there’s no need to be rude, I was merely asking.” He glanced to Green. “I swear, you kids tend to bring those cats with you everywhere. I was rather surprised to see them at the soccer practice.”

Hunk froze as his grip tightened on Yellow. “You..were at soccer practice? Why?”

Sendak shrugged casually. “Need a place to read my paper, until one of your teachers and Shiro insisted I vacate the premises.”

_Shiro did?_ Hunk thought. _When did he do that?_

The boy didn’t have time to ponder as he felt Sendak stare at him again. “So, tell me boy, where did you kids find these cats?” Sendak asked as he pointed to Yellow and gave a feral grin. “Or did these cats find you?”

Hunk shared a strained frown with Pidge. What should they say? They had to keep the cats a secret, and this guy was asking far too many questions about it to be casual.

“Um…” Hunk stammered, “we...uh..”

He felt a hand on his shoulder from behind. “That’s enough, Hunk. You don’t have to say anything.”

The boy fearfully turned around, but instantly relaxed as he saw the stoic face of Kolivan. Hunk never imagined he be so grateful to see his principal. Kolivan had patted Pidge’s shoulder as well before he walked around and locked his gaze with Sendak.

“Why are you asking questions about their cats?” he said in a firm tone.

Sendak rose and shrugged. “Thinking about getting a cat myself and wanted to know where the tykes got theirs.”

Kolivan’s gaze hardened. Hunk recognized it. It was the same gaze he used when he sensed a student was lying and was staring them down until he got the truth. He was rather famous among the kids for it.

“You barely arrive in this town, and you are asking about getting a pet?” Kolivan asked.

“It gets lonely on the road,” Sendak said and grinned, “and who knows, maybe I’ll end up buying a house here.” He glanced to the cats. “Lots of intriguing things to see.”

Hunk found himself ducking behind Yellow, and his cat seemed fine with that as she hissed again.

Kolivan crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, whatever you are doing, you do NOT need to bother these children with your questions.” He stepped closer and he whispered something Hunk couldn’t quite hear. Whatever it was, Sendak raised an eyebrow and held up his hands.

“Alright, I know when I’m not wanted. I appear to be making a habit of that today.” He adjusted his hat and nodded towards Pidge and Hunk. “Bye, children, and I enjoyed our little chat.”

Kolivan continued to watch him like a hawk until he was out of sight.

“Um...thanks, Principal Kolivan,” Hunk replied. “We weren’t quite sure how to answer him.”

“You’re welcome,” Kolivan said as he kneeled to them, “but why were you two talking to him?”

“He started talking to us,” Pidge exclaimed defensively. “We met him the other day when Keith got hurt.”

“And apparently he was at soccer practice,” Hunk stammered and noticed Kolivan’s eyes widened at that statement. “Then he bumped into us here, but we barely know him, so I got nervous and.-”

“Hunk, calm down,” Kolivan said as he patted his shoulder. “This isn’t an interrogation.”

Hunk slumped as he felt Yellow rub her head against him for comfort. “Yes, Sir.”

“Now then,” Kolivan stated as he stood up, “may I ask what you two are doing here?”

“We’re working on our science project.” Pidge held up the plane. “ See? We’re doing it here because Hunk’s sister is blasting music through the walls.”

“Ahh,” Kolivan said as he nodded and took a seat next to them. “Yes, I recall Lisa always having...loud tastes.” He looked to the plane. “Why don’t you two tell me how far you’ve gotten?”

Hunk glanced to Pidge and gave a shrug. He didn’t quite get why Kolivan was so interested, but maybe it was teacher’s instinct or something. Either way, he and Pidge found themselves explaining to their principal their project and how they were fixing their plane. The cats became more calm as they talked, and Yellow looked close to falling asleep.

Kolivan gave thoughtful nods, and small suggestions on how to do their presentations. Before Hunk realized it, he glanced to his watch and saw the time. “Aw, man, we better get home before my mom wonders where we went to.”

Kolivan stood up. “I was heading to your shop anyway, so I’ll walk you two there.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, but Hunk didn’t mind. Kolivan had been buying bread from his family’s place since before he was born. The cats silently walked closely to both of the children as they made the trek home. Hunk was half suspicious they were on the lookout for Sendak. Although, Hunk wondered if he should be doing the same.

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Once they reached the bakery, Yellow watched Hunk waved to Kolivan before they headed back up the stairs. Her body stiffened as she feared to hear the music again, but when there was nothing except silence she relaxed.

_The noise is over,_ Yellow purred to Green. 

_That is the least of our worries,_ Green growled as the children entered Hunk’s room. _That man is up to something._

Yellow nodded as she flicked her ears. _Agreed, if Kolivan had not appeared I was considering biting his hand to drive him away._

_Appreciated, but that would have been unwise._ Green watched as Pidge chatted with Hunk on what other materials they needed for their project. _He may have gotten angry and taken it out on the children._

Yellow growled as she squeezed her eyes shut. _Then what are we to do, Sister? Sit back and let him torment our kids._

_Of course not,_ Green hissed back. _But we are limited in what we can do in our current size._

Yellow flicked her tail. _Unless we changed like Blue did to protect Lance._

Green sat back and sighed. _That would be useful, but we have yet to figure out she did that._

Yellow turned her head and watched Hunk stick out his tongue as he sketched out a plan. _Then we best figure out soon, for I fear we may be needing to soon._

She saw Green shiver as she silently lowered her head onto her paws. Neither had to say it. Both could feel it in their bones that trouble was on the horizon, and the target would be the kids.

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Kolivan bought his bread, but he mostly did it from body memory as he tried to quell the rage inside him. He had gone to the park to do some reading, but that planned had been tossed aside the second he saw Sendak speaking to Pidge and Hunk. There was no way he would leave those children unescorted afterwards, and even made up the excuse of needing to buy bread just to ensure Sendak didn’t approach them again.

He sighed as he left the shop. Kolivan hadn’t wanted to admit it, but they couldn’t keep this quiet anymore. If Sendak was targeting the children openly, they had to make a move. However, Antok had yet to locate any solid evidence that would valid an arrest. Nevermind, the moment they did, Sendak would be on to them and they would risk exposing their organization

Still, they needed to protect both the children and the cats. The ringing of his cell phone broke his brooding and when Kolivan saw Thace’s number he ducked into an alley.

“What is it?” he asked.

He heard a growl. “Kolivan, we need to inform Shiro.”

Kolivan straightened his posture and looked around to make certain there were no eavesdroppers.

“I know you’re against it, but enough is enough,” Thace continued to rant as if he had practice. “Shiro needs to know about Sendak-”

“I agree,” Kolivan stated.

“Don’t argue with me...Wait, you do?”

Kolivan leaned his back against the wall. “Yes, you were right, Thace. We can’t keep it secret any longer and the children’s safety is at risk.”

There was a pause. “Kolivan, what happened? I known you don’t change your mind that quickly.”

“I do when I see the danger in front of me,” Kolivan said as he glanced back to the bakery.

“What?”

“I caught Sendak talking to Pidge and Hunk alone in the park.”

There was a curse. “That’s even worse than this morning.”

Kolivan’s body went stiff. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sendak was sitting at the bench during soccer practice.”

Kolivan’s grip tightened on the phone. “What?”

“Ulaz, Shiro and I got him to leave, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was there.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Kolivan said with a sigh. “I’m going to assume you have already made plans to inform Shiro of the situation?”

“Yes,” Thace said firmly. “I suggested a meeting next week, and I plan to bring it up then.”

“Very well,” Kolivan said as he straightened his posture. “I’ll contact Antok and see if he has been able to find any information on Sendak.”

“Alright, I’ll give Ulaz the update,” Thace replied. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” Kolivan replied before he hung up. He stole one more glance at the bakery before he began his trek towards Antok’s place. There was going to be much work ahead of them.

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“We’re going to need a lot of glitter.”

Keith gradually lifted his head from the book. “Glitter?”

“For our presentation,” Lance continued as he waved his arms around. “We could totally catch everyone’s attention if we use glitter.”

“But glitter has nothing to do with the weather,” Keith stated as he shut the book.

Lance shrugged. “We can say we accidentally opened a jar.”

“We’re not using glitter,” Keith argued.

Lance grasped his chin in thought. “Think my sister as some green glitter we can use..or maybe silver would be better.”

“You’re not listening are you?” Keith sighed as he leaned against his hand.

Lance’s mother patted his shoulder in sympathy. “Better to just let him run with it, Keith.” She then hummed as she set a plate of food on the table. “I brought you boys a couple of sandwiches for a snack,” Clara stated as she crossed her arms. “With that said, Keith I’m going to give you some extra food for you to bring back home..”

Keith blushed. “Um..thanks, but you don’t have to-”

“Nonsense,” Clara said as she patted Keith’s shoulder, “what’s the point in having a farm if you can’t share with your neighbors?”

“Clara!” Lance’s father shouted from the front door. “Mind giving me a hand? I need someone to hold the ladder while I fix that hole in the roof of the barn.”

“Be right there, dear,” Clara said as she wiped her hands on a towel. “Be back in a bit, boys.”

Keith watched her go and sighed once the door was shut. “Why is your mom always trying to feed me and Shiro?”

“Because she thinks you two are just skin and bones.”

Keith shot him a glare.

“Hey, her words not mine,” Lance retorted as held up his hands. “She’s just the type that has to mother everyone.”

Keith gave a pout, but tossed it aside as he heard playful growls. He glanced over and saw Red was currently attempting to pin Blue to the floor. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Still can’t believe Red tried to protect me from balls.”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, that was so funny.”

“Allura didn’t think it was,” Keith muttered as he leaned against his hand. “It’s going to make soccer practice rather difficult if I have to drag Red off the field every time.”

“Aw, it’ll be fine,” Lance said as he leaned back, “especially since you’re not a goalie, and, hey, at least you know your cats just wants to keep you safe.”

_Yeah, I guess there’s that,_ Keith thought as he glanced back to the book. He heard Blue give a little growl and his mind began to drift.

“Blue is protective of you too,” Keith commented.

Lance glanced up from the book and gave a proud nod. “Yeah, man, it was so cool to see her turn into a mega lion.” He scowled slightly. “Mind you, I did not like Rolo keeping her in that cage one bit.”

Keith nodded as he reached for a sandwich. “How did you know Blue was in danger?”

Lance paused and tilted his head. “Um, I saw Rolo and Nyma stash her into their-”

“No, not that,” Keith said as he shook his head. “I mean, I’m assuming they hadn’t snagged Blue with you watching. So, when did you realize Blue was in trouble?”

Both of the cats stopped playing and looked up intrigued. Lance leaned back in his chair as he shut his eyes. “It’s..kind of weird, but..she told me.”

Keith lowered his sandwich to the plate. “Told you?” He looked to Blue. “You mean you guys can talk?” Keith swore if Red could talk this whole time-

“No, not normal talk,” Lance said as he rubbed his neck. “It was..kind of in my head? Like I suddenly heard someone saying they were in trouble. I thought I was hearing things, but I saw images of Blue and..I don’t know I felt like there was a trail to follow.”

Keith’s eyes widened. “And at the end of it was Blue?”

Lance nodded. 

“Why didn’t you tell us that?” Keith asked as he raised his hands. 

Learning the cats has this telepathic power was rather a huge deal and frankly explained a lot.

“I thought I dreamt up the whole thing,” Lance snapped back. “Everything was just so hectic.” He shot Keith a look. “It’s not like Red has done that to you right?”

Keith opened and shut his mouth. “No, she hasn’t.” He felt something poke his leg and saw it was Red demanding a pat. He reached down to stroke her ears. “Still..now that you mentioned it, I swear there are times I can just..sense what she’s thinking.”

“Fairly certain that’s just a cat owner thing,” Lance remarked as Blue jumped into his lap. “Although, I do get that feeling too and it feels more than that.”

“Maybe because it probably is,” Keith said softly as Red purred. “We should tell Allura and Shiro later.”

Allura hadn’t found anything concrete in her tests with the cats, but if their theory on this mental link was true, then this was a big discovery.

“Yeah, we should,” Lance said as he looked to the calendar. “I think Mom wanted to drop by her place to give some extra decorations for Coran’s haunted house later today. I can try to mention to her then.”

Keith frowned. “Haunted house?”

“For the festival,” Lance said, but Keith continued his blank stare. “The big Halloween festival? In the town square?” Keith shrugged and Lance gasped so loud it caused Blue to jump off his lap. “Dude, has no one told you about the festival?”

“Does it sound like anyone has?” Keith asked.

“Told you what?” Clara asked as she entered.

Lance jumped and pointed to Keith. “Mom, he doesn’t know about the Halloween festival?!”

“You’re saying like I broke the law or something,” Keith growled as did Red.

Clara sighed as she patted Lance’s head. “Sweetheart, calm down. It’s not that shocking. It is their first Halloween here.” Lance gave a pout, but his mother ignored it as he kneeled to Keith’s height.

“Around here, on Halloween the town has a big festival in town.” She gave a smile. “Everyone dresses in costumes, and there are games, and booths for kids to go trick or treating.”

Keith frowned. “You don’t go trick or treating at people’s houses?”

Granted, Keith had rarely done that. He did it a few times with his mom, but that had only been in their apartment complex. Last year, he had prefered to stay inside and watch movies with Shiro.

“The houses are spread rather far apart around here,” Clara explained, “so the council thought having a festival so there’s less distance for you kids to walk made more sense.”

“And there’s WAY more candy to eat,” Lance exclaimed. “Hunk’s family make these awesome cookies they hand out! And last year, I switched between two costumes so I got extra.”

Clara gave her son a dark look. “Which, I recall, telling you not to do this year.”

“Yes, Mom,” Lance said with a pout and looked to Keith. “So, do you think you’ll come? Pidge, Hunk and I go every year!” He gasped. “Hey, with you in the group we can totally dress up as the ninja turtles!”

Keith blushed. Parties weren’t really his thing. They were loud and crowded, but then he felt Red paw at his legs. He glanced down at his cat and gave a small sigh.

“Yeah..I might go,” his gaze hardened, “but I’m not going as a turtle.”

“Oh, come on! It would be awesome!” Lance answered.

Keith rolled his eyes as he went back to work, and resisted the urge to look at Red. If their theory was right then how long would it be before Keith was able to hear Red’s thoughts?

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When Sendak returned to his room, he whistled as he got out his notebook and reviewed his notes. Snagging a single cat would be difficult, and after the hunters failure Sendak was determined to retrieve at least two cats for Zarkon.

He look over his list of names. Shiro’s was first, but Sendak scratched off his name. He was the only adult who had bonded with a cat and he was former military. He would be the most difficult to catch off guard.

His pen hovered over Lance’s name. _He seems like an easy target, but the hunters already tried capturing his cat so I’ll put him on hold for now._

He scratched out Lance’s name. Sendak’s main goal would be to get all five cats, but he had a feeling once he had two in his clutches, the others would soon follow to attempt a rescue.

Keith’s name was next on the list, but Sendak scratched off his name. He could tell the boy didn’t trust easily and was more likely to have his guard up. No, he would tackle that boy later.

The last two names on the list were Hunk and Pidge. Sendak grinned and he encircled the names. From what he saw, those two were the weakest links. They would be his main targets.

He whistled again as he placed the list on the table and went to order some dinner. With his targets decided, he just needed to wait for the perfect moment.


	8. Chapter 8

Allura went through the pictures and held up a photo of a river. “Do you sense anything?”

Keith squinted his eyes as he patted Red in his lap. “No.”

Allura frowned as she glanced to Pidge. “What about you?”

Pidge rolled her eyes as she struggled to keep Green in her lap. “No.”

Allura put the photo away and brought out one of a fish. “How about now?”

Keith exchanged a dry look with Pidge and she shrugged. “No,” they said in unison.

Allura brought out a photo of a lion. “What about now?”

“For the tenth in a row, no,” Pidge muttered as she sighed. “Allura, these tests aren’t proving anything.”

“They’re not a bad thing to try,” Shiro voiced as he put his slip his jacket on. “If Lance was able to hear Blue’s thoughts, then there’s a high chance you can do.”

“I’m not denying that,” Pidge voiced with a pout, “I just highly doubt it’ll happen because Allura holds up cue cards.”

Allura sighed as she set the cards aside. “I shall take that as a sign that’s enough for tests tonight.”

A small squeak caused everyone to glance to the table and see Platt waving a hand. Allura chuckled. “And that is a clear indicator it’s feeding time.” She stood up and scooped up the mouse into her hands. “Honestly, I’m beginning to wonder if I should even bother to lock the mice’s cage at all.”

“Considering how often they escape? I wouldn’t bother,” Keith replied as he sat up with Red in his arms.

Honestly, it wasn’t as if the mice did any damage while they ran free. There were times they acted more well behaved than the cats did.

Shiro smiled as he went to Keith and pulled him into a tight hug. “I should only be a few hours,” he told him as Keith hugged back. “Be good for Allura and Coran.”

“I will,” Keith said as he let go. “I hope Thace doesn’t anything bad to say about me.”

And Keith meant it. He had been trying his hardest to stay out of trouble since school started and he rather keep it that way.

“I’m sure it’ll all be good things,” Shiro said as he ruffled Keith’s hair and looked to Allura. “Thanks for babysitting him again.”

“It’s no trouble,” Allura said with a smile as she placed Platt on her shoulder. “Besides, Coran could use the extra hands for his haunted house.” She gave a giggle as she winked at the kids. “He is determined to beat Varkon for the best haunted house.”

Pidge wrinkled her nose. “I don’t recall either of them winning it last year.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re not going to try to outdo each other,” Allura replied.

Shiro laughed as he headed out the door. “I’ll see you later, Keith.”

Keith waved as Red jumped to the floor before he turned to Pidge. “So, what do you want to do now?”

Pidge gestured over her shoulder. “Let’s go check on Coran like Allura said. Last time we left him alone when he was crafting, he almost glued his hands together.”

Keith chuckled. “Yeah, sure,” he said but paused as he saw the serious glint in Pidge’s eyes. She was dead serious.

“Go ahead then,” Allura said as she placed Platt on the counter. “I’ll join you once I’ve feed the mice.”

Platt gave a squeaked as he spotted the three other mice appear from almost nowhere. Keith shook his head as he followed Pidge along with Green and Red. Those mice were so weird sometimes.

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Shiro always found schools so eerie at night. It was only natural since they were so active with kids during the day, but once that was removed the stillness of the place could put any man on edge.

Shiro walked down the hall casually gazing upon the first graders art projects of autumn leaves hanging on the wall. Once he reached the classroom, Shiro knocked before he turned the knob.

“Hello? Thace?” 

Shiro found no one and frowned as he glanced at his watch. Did he get the time wrong? Maybe he was too early?”

“Evening, Shiro.”

He jumped and spun around. Thace placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as he tucked his folder under his arm. “Shall we start?”

Shiro nodded as he stepped aside to let Thace by before he entered and shut the door behind him. “Are we the only ones here?” 

“No, Kolivan is in his office,” Thace said as he sat at his desk. “Truth be told, I was running over some notes with him regarding our meeting.”

“Oh, I see” Shiro said softly. “Maybe I’ll see him on the way out to say hi.”

Thace paused as he placed the folder on his desk. “There..is a high chance you’ll wish to speak to him once we are done with our chat.”

Shiro’s smile dropped into a frown, but Thace ignored it as he opened his folder.

“Keith seems to be adjusting well here,” he began and he brought out one of Keith’s files. “His grades are steady, and we’ve had no discipline issues with him, nor has he gotten into conflict with any of the other students.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Shiro said with a relieved smile. _For a moment I thought there was a problem._

“He does seem to be struggling a bit in math,” Thace replied as he looked over the file, “but he should be fine if he received some tutoring at home with him.” He lowered the paper and looked up. “I could also ask Pidge to help him since it’s one of her best subjects.”

Shiro nodded. “I can help him with math, but asking Pidge for help probably isn’t a bad idea either.”

“Good.” Thace shut the file and folded his hands on the desk. “Now that we have that out of the way, I need to speak to you about an urgent matter.”

Shiro tilted his head. “What would that be?”

Thace leaned over the desks. “The cats.”

Shiro blinked and leaned closer. “The cats?”

“Your cats, along with the ones that live with Lance, Hunk and Pidge,” Thace replied in a firm tone.

Wrinkles formed in Shiro’s forehead. “That cats?” Then a thought occurred to him. “Is this because they were at the soccer practice?”

Allura hadn’t been thrilled how the cats tried to take it over, however, Shiro never thought that Thace would be bothered by it.

“No,” Thace stated. “I am talking about how those cats are not normal and your relationship with them.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed as his back stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re-”

“Shiro, I know that they’re the cats of the Voltron spring,” he said in a more gentler tone, “and I know they’ve currently decided to live with you and the other children.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed as he glanced to the door. Should he continue to deny it? Maybe just leave? Would Thace attack him if he did?

Thace reached out and touched Shiro’s shoulder. “And before you jump to conclusions, I’m not your enemy. I wish to keep the cats a secret and out of anyone’s hand who wishes to abuse. We’re on the same side.”

Shiro froze as he looked back to Thace. “You really know about the cats?”

“Yes, but not much from the information we’ve gathered.”

Shiro raised his hand. “Wait a sec?” He leaned forward. “What do you mean ‘we’?”

Keeping his eyes on Shiro, Thace leaned back in his seat. “The Blade of Marmora. We are a group that is as old as the forest itself and we’ve been a secret for just as long. There are various members in town, but I mainly refer to Kolivan, Ulaz, myself and Antok.” 

“Antok?” Shiro replied as his mind was still reeling. “As in the sheriff?” 

“Correct,” Thace folded his hands on the desk. “Our mission is to keep the knowledge of the spring and the cats from going public, but I’ll admit we had to change our methods when the cats revealed themselves to you.”

Shiro shook his head. “Let me see if I understand this?” He raised his head. “Your group has known about the cats? This whole time?”

Thace nodded.

Shiro cocked his head at him. “And...you run a school and work as teachers?”

“We do care about the community, and the education on the next generation is vital.” He rubbed his neck. “Also, I never said being a Blade had a high salary.”

“Uh..I see,” Shiro said slowly as he struggled to process this. “So your job is to protect them?” Shiro narrowed his eyes. “Then why didn’t you do anything about Rolo and Nyma last summer?”

Thace flinched.

“They almost ran off with not only with one of the cats, but with Lance too!”

“I know,” Thace said with a growl. “While we knew they were hunting the cats, we underestimate their abilities until it was too late.” He gave a sigh. “I will not make excuses, but you must understand there have always been people hunting for them and usually the cats are able to take care of the situation themselves without our assistance.”

Shiro wasn’t fully convinced, but he could tell Thace was sincere. _Although, to be fair those cats have been around a long time if the story is true,_ Shiro thought. _In their shoes, I would make the same assumptions._

“When Antok had them arrested, he had planned to interrogate them on who actually hired them, but they managed to escape.” Thace shook his head. “Since then, us blades have wanted to protect the cats, and the children without them knowing.”

A light bulb went off in Shiro’s head. “Is..is that way Kolivan put them all in the same class?”

“That was half of it, but he also genuinely wanted to ensure Keith thrived at our school,” Thace said as he gave a half smile. “There was no lie in what he told you and Keith at your meeting.”

“Okay,” Shiro said as he narrowed his eyes, “but I don’t understand why you’re telling me all of this now.”

“Because the circumstances have changed,” Thace said firmly, “to the point it would be dangerous for you not to know.”

Shiros’ eyes widened and he swallowed. “Is..this regarding Sendak?”

Thace nodded. “I take it you had your own suspicions?”

Shiro cleared his throat. “A bit, but it was more of a feeling rather than hard evidence.”

“You have solid instincts then,” Thace said as he reached into his desk and brought out another file. “We have strong reason to believe he was hired by the same person who hired Rolo and Nyma to come and claim the cats.”

Sliding the file over to Shiro, Thace’s gaze hardened. “At first, Kolivan believed we could keep an eye on him without worrying you and the children, but not anymore.”

Shiro’s chewed his bottom lip. “Because he came to the soccer game Saturday.”

“And also making contact with you and Keith,” Thace leaned back in his chair, “and he spoke to Hunk and Pidge in the park the other day.”

“What?” Shiro asked as he rose. “They never mentioned that to me.” He had just seen them yesterday.

“They probably hadn’t thought much of it,” Thace replied. “He was talking to them, but Kolivan happened to be there and intervened to drive him away.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Kolivan then stayed with them and escorted them home.”

Shiro’s hands tightened into fists. He was thankful Kolivan had been there, but what if he hadn’t? Would Sendak had tried something?

Shiro then took the file and opened it to read the contents. There wasn’t a lot to go on, but there were files saying Sendak had been hired as a hitman, and other illegals jobs.

“It took some digging, but he does seem to be regularly hired by a wealthy man named Zarkon,” Thace continued. “You may have heard of him.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “You mean the CEO of the Galra Company?” 

His name had been all over the news a couple of years ago. Protests had been held by former workers and had accused the company had abused them, but they rapidly become quiet and the protests stopped. When reporters tracked them down for follow-up interviews, the protesters acted as if nothing had ever been wrong in the first place. Shiro could never put his finger on it, but there was something creepy about the whole thing. It was like the protesters had been put under a spell or something.

“That would be correct,” Thace replied.

Shiro swallowed. If Zarkon was the one after the cats, then they were in deep trouble.

“What do we know about him?” Shiro asked as he tapped the page. “Why does he want the cats?”

“We don’t know for certain,” Thace said as he raised a hand. “But he has a pattern of funding research in supernatural matters.”

“You mean magic?” Shiro said. “He believes in that?” 

Someone with that amount of money actually believed in that kind of stuff?

“There have been accusations of him stealing artifacts that have been believed to be magical, but there’s never been enough evidence to convict him.” Thace reached for the last page in the file. “There’s also a woman named Haggar who is reported to be his second in command for his company. We don’t know anything about her, except she is often tied into those cases of stolen artifacts.”

“And now he’s wants the cats,” Shiro said grimly.

“That is what we suspect, but Kolivan believes it’s more likely he’s after the spring of Voltron itself,” Thace said with a deep sigh. “If the stories of the water there granting great power and immortality is true.”

“That seems likely,” Shiro concluded and cursed.

He leaned forward and scrubbed his face with the palms of his hands. He had come here expecting to just be discussing Keith’s grades, not about a dangerous men possibly coming to attack him and his family.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Thace said gently, “but we wished for you to be on the same page, so we can form a proper plan.”

Shiro nodded. “Thank you for that, but why not just have Sendak arrested?” 

Thace shut the file. “Antok still has to obey the law and he doesn’t have any hard evidence.” He looked up to Shiro. “Also, we were concerned if Sendak knew we suspected him he may try to attack you and the children straight.”

 _Damn, he’s right,_ Shiro thought. Sendak would be the type to refuse to leave without what he came here for.

“So, what’s the plan then?” Shiro asked as he looked up. “Or, at least, I’m assuming you have one?”

Thace rose and gestured to the door. “Kolivan would like to discuss that with you in his office. If you could just follow me.”

Shiro nodded as he did so, and already started to silently plan on how to explain the whole thing to the others when he returned.


	9. Chapter 9

Pidge wrinkled her nose and poked at the neon green cardboard ghost. “So...are you trying have people think the ghost got vomited on?”

Coran gazed up from the scarecrow he was working. “What, of course not! Green has been scientifically proven to be a scary colour, and therefore seeing a ghost of the same colour will strike fear into people’s hearts.” He placed a hat onto the scarecrow. “Also, it’s glow in the dark paint, and that’s just the colour it comes in.”

Keith grunted as he shoved the werewolf cutout against the wall. “You really believe kids are going to be scared by this?”

“Yes,” Coran chimed confidently and then narrowed his eyes. “If anything else, it’ll be far better than what Varkon puts out this year.”

Pidge smirked. “Well, you may want to up your game because I heard he’s going for a total Phantom of the Opera theme.” She moved her fingers back and forth like she was playing invisible keys. “He even got an organ for it.”

Coran gasped as he made a fist. “The scoundrel!” He placed the scarecrow aside and left the room. “Right, then looks like it’s time for my secret weapon.”

Keith raised an eyebrow as he went over to a snoozing Red and scratched her ear. “Is Varkon really doing that?”

Pidge snickered. “Naw, I just like to tease him,” Pidge poked at a plastic pumpkin, “and he does need to get better stuff.”

A ring came from her laptop, causing Green to stop exploring the box she was in and scurried over to tap the keyboard.

“Hey,” a familiar voice called out from the screen with a laugh. “Pidge, you there? Or am I just talking to the cat again?” 

Pidge’s face brightened as she ran over to the screen and grinned at her brother’s face.  
“Matt, hi!” Pidge greeted as she picked up Green into her arms. “Thought you were studying tonight.”

Matt gave a smirk and shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. “One of my classes got cancelled today, so I got the studying done early. Thought I would check in with my baby sis.”

Pidge rolled her eyes as she stopped Green from poking at the keyboard. “I am NOT your baby sister.”

Matt placed a hand over his heart. “Aw, but you’ll always be a baby to me, Katie.”

“And you’ll always be a big dofus,” Pidge snickered. She glanced to the side and spotted Keith hovering.

 _Oh, right, almost forgot he was here too!_ Pidge lunged forward and yanked Keith to be in the screen with her.

“This is Keith, remember him?” She pointed to Keith as she kept her hold on Green. “You saw him when you visited last time.”

It had been a quick visit. Both Matt and her dad came home before the end of summer to ensure Pidge was alright before starting school. It had been nice to have both of them around, although Pidge did think they both worried too much about her.

Keith gave an awkward wave. “Um...hi?”

Matt laughed. “Oh, yeah, the grumpy kid with the grumpy cat.”

Keith pouted. “I’m not that grumpy,” he grumbled.

The comment seemed to make Matt laugh more before he turned his attention back to Pidge. “So, what are you guys up to?”

“Helping Coran get his props for the haunted house,” Pidge glanced over and saw Coran was struggling to get glue out of his mustache again. “It’s not..that great, but I think it’ll be an improvement over the theme last year.”

Matt scoffed. “Anything would.”

Keith frowned. “What was so bad about last year’s theme?”

Pidge gave him a dry look. “One word, sentai.”

Keith blinked and tilted his head. “You mean like those shows in Japan?”

Pidge twitched an eye as she looked back to the screen. “I never want to see a cape again.”

“Me neither,” Matt said as he rubbed his eyes. “Although, I do miss seeing Coran’s haunted houses. College has been crazy.” Matt gave a wistful smile. “Makes me miss life back home. Always quiet and peaceful, nothing EVER happens there.”

Pidge paused as she glanced down to Green. How would Matt react if she told him about Green? _Probably would drive back home because he had a million questions,_ Pidge thought. _Then he probably hit the library for research to try to learn more about them while grinning like a maniac._

Her thoughts then drifted over to what Hunk said a few days ago. Truth be told, she didn’t like leaving her family in the dark any more than Hunk did. Matt would be helpful about it too. Her dad might become rather concerned, but he would have an open mind about it. It would be nice to hear their input.

“Hey, Pidge?” Matt asked with a raised eyebrow. “You okay? Look like you’re in deep thought there.”

“It’s nothing,” she answered, waving her hand. “Just a problem I have for homework I need to work out.”

Matt looked skeptical, but sighed with a nod. “Right,” he muttered and glanced to his watch. “Okay, I should grab something to eat.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, and Dad said he try to call you tomorrow to check up on you.”

“I don’t need checking up on,” Pidge mumbled but shrugged. “But, alright. I know it makes him feel better.”

Matt smiled and waved. “Good luck with the haunted house and keep Coran away from capes!”

The screen went blank. Keith crossed his arms as he looked to Pidge. “Dare I ask what exactly happened last year?”

“You don’t want to know,” Pidge said as she patted his shoulder. “It’s for your own good.”

“Kids,” Coran asked as waved his hands covered with paper. “Mind fetching me the glue remover from the kitchen? In the top cupboard I think.”

“Will do,” Pidge said as she put Green on the floor and gestured to Keith. “Come on, might as well get a drink while we’re at it.”

Pidge lead the way with both Green at Red at her heels as they went upstairs and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and reached for can of pop. “We only got orange. That okay?”

“That’s fine,” Keith said as he opened the cupboard. “I hope you have a lot of glue remover. Coran looked like he got it all over-”

He jumped back startled, frowned and sighed as he crossed his arms. “Geez, Plachu don’t scare me like that.”

Curious, Pidge peeked over his shoulder and saw the small green mouse grinning as he flicked his tail at Keith.

“Good grief,” Pidge said as she set the drinks aside and scooped him up. “How do you keep getting out of that cage? I was certain that lock Allura bought would do it.”

Plachu didn’t seem to listen to was she was saying. His whiskers twitched and before he could be stop, the mouse jumped out of Pidge’s hand to hop back onto the counter. Plachu jumped onto a nearby chair and climbed down onto the floor.

The cats watched him with great interest as he dashed to the doorway and then stared back at the children.

“What is he doing?” Keith asked.

Pidge grasped her chin. “If I were to guess, he wants us to follow him.”

Keith wrinkled his nose. “Why?”

Pidge shrugged. “No clue, but let’s see what he wants.”

She barely waited for Keith to catch up as they followed the mouse. Plachu scampered up the hallway and them dashed under the door that Pidge knew lead into Allura’s clinic.

 _Why does he want us to go there?_ Pidge thought, but she paused upon hearing voices from behind it.

“Shiro, are you certain?” 

“That’s what he told me.”

Pidge blinked as she glanced back to Keith. “Sounds like Shiro’s back,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Keith said as he kneeled at the door, “but why are they talking in secret?”

Pidge pressed a finger to her lips as she pressed her ear to the door.

“It’s just hard to wrap my head around,” Allura continued as Pidge heard her pace. “Principal Kolivan, Thace and even Doctor Ulaz know about the cats?”

Pidge’s eyes widened as did Keith.

“And they’re part of some secret society that’s been trying to protect them,” Shiro continued. “I know, my mind still hasn’t fully processed it yet.”

Keith’s jaw hung opened, but he firmly shut it as he pressed his own ear against the door.

“How do we know they’re on our side?” Allura continued. “For all we know, they’re after the cats too and this is a trap.”

“They’re sincere in wanting to keep the kids safe,” Shiro voiced. “At least, I believe that since they felt concerned enough to tell us.”

“I suppose so,” Allura said. “However, I still feel uncertain about the whole thing.”

“Believe me, I get it,” Shiro said as footsteps approached the door. “I just don’t know about telling the kids….wait, Plachu why are you at the door-”

The door opened and Pidge and Keith tumbled inside the room. Pidge groaned as she stared upward to see Allura, and Shiro hovering above him. Plachu hopped onto Keith’s forehead and poked him on the nose.

“Thanks for giving us away,” the boy grumbled.

“You two, okay?” Shiro asked as he helped both the kids up.

“Nevermind that,” Pidge said as she scrambled to her feet. “You said, Thace, our teacher, knows about the cats?! And so does Kolivan?!”

Shiro winced and exchanged an awkward glance with Allura before rubbing his eyes. “If you heard that I suppose there’s no denying it.”

“So, it’s true?” Keith said as his eyes narrowed.

“Yes, and apparently so do Ulaz and sheriff Antok,” Shiro said as he stood up. “It’s the real reason Thace wanted to see me tonight. He felt it was time we knew about them.”

Pidge’s mouth dropped. No way! Just how far did this thing go? She grabbed Shiro’s hand. “Is this some kind of conspiracy by the whole town? Is there a hidden base under the school or even-”

“Whoa, slow down, Pidge,” Shiro said gently. “I don’t think it’s that extreme. All I know is that they call themselves the Blade of Marmora and they’ve been trying to keep the spring of Voltron secret for centuries.”

“Yeah, okay,” Pidge said, her mind still racing, “but still-” 

A meow brought Pidge back to reality. She glanced down to see Green pawing her leg, and Plachu sitting right beside her.

Pidge sighed as she placed the mouse on her shoulder and scooped up Green. “Sorry, but you gotta admit it’s a big deal.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Keith said as Red appeared at his side. “Are they even on our side?”

“They claim to,” Allura cut in as she crossed her arms, “although this information would have been useful last summer.”

“They had their reasons,” Shiro continued as he glanced around. “Does anyone know where Black is?”

Pidge pointed over her shoulder. “Last I check she was taking a nap.”

Allura kneeled as she took Plachu and placed him on her shoulder. “In that case, why don’t you go and fetch Coran. It’s probably better we explain everything at once so we don’t have to repeat.”

“What about Lance and Hunk?” Keith asked.

Pidge shrugged. “They were planning on getting online for us to play a game with them, I can ask them to hop onto video chat.”

 _And boy is Lance going to freak out,_ Pidge thought. _He always did believe teachers had some kind of secret base that students couldn’t go to._

“Sounds good,” Shiro said with a smile. “Once everyone is together I’ll give you guys the full details.”

Keith looked hesitant, but gave a solemn nod. “Yeah, alright, let’s go, Pidge.”

Pidge glanced to Shiro and Allura before trailing after Keith. She thought back to Matt’s comment how nothing ever happened in their town. Oh boy, was he ever being proven wrong.

Once the children were out of the room, Allura turned to Shiro. “Are you going to tell them about Sendak?”

Shiro’s smile vanished as he rubbed his neck. “I don’t think so.”

“But he’s a threat, isn’t he?” Allura replied.

“The Blades are being cautious, but I don’t want to scare the kids when they have enough things to worry about,” Shiro said as he crossed his arms. “With that said, I am going to tell them they have to be extra careful, and they’re smart kids. Hunk was the first one to be suspicious about Nyma and Rolo in the first place.”

Allura’s frown tightened. “That is true, but we won’t be able to keep it secret from the children forever.”

“Not if we want them to stay safe,” Shiro said with a sigh. “Funny thing is, Keith and I moved here because we thought it would be quieter.” He shook his head. “I swear we’re getting into ten times more the trouble then we would have in the city.”

Allura patted his shoulder. “At least you’re not in this trouble alone. There is strength in numbers.”

“There is,” Shiro said with a sad smile. “I just hope it’s enough to keep everyone safe.”

Allura nodded, and found herself hoping for the same thing.

080808080808080808080808080808080

It didn’t take as long for Lance to leave for school like he normally did. Normally, Blue had to leap into his bed and keep poking at his nose to get the boy to crack an eye open. Today though, Lance was awake before Blue for once.

She gave a sleepy yawn as she watched Lance gulp down his breakfast and gave Blue a pat on the head before he headed out the door.

Blue flicked her tail as she watched. She wasn’t that shocked to see Lance be so energetic. After the chat he had last night with the other humans on the computer, Lance had been bouncing with questions.

“What? They’re a secret society? That is so cool!” Lance had exclaimed as he leaned over the keyboard of his laptop. “Are they like ninjas? They’re ninjas aren’t they! That’s how Mister Thace has always been able to guess when I was trying to read my comics in class!”

Blue narrowed her eyes in thought. She recalled a century or so ago Black had been suspicious of a group of humans who had been trying to monitor the cats, except they had never made their presence known to Blue or her sisters. They had assumed the group had faded away with time. It never occurred to any of them the Blades of Marmora were still around. Granted, none of the cats had bothered to keep up with the activities of the town if it didn’t concern their forest.

Ah, how much times had changed since then. Blue crawled through the cat door at the front of the house, walked along the goat pen, and took the familiar shortcut through the woods.

Shiro’s car was already gone out of the driveway by the time Blue reached Red and Black’s home. She approached the front door and twitched her whiskers. The magic sparkled and caused the door to unlock. Blue whacked the door opened with her paw and was greeted with Red scowling at her in the hallway.

 _Sister, when will you learn you can not simply barge in here?_ Red growled to her.

Blue flicked her tail and used her magic to relock the door. _If I knocked to be allowed in, you would never open the door,_ she teased. 

Red scowled as she began to wash her paw. _Lance is off to school I take it?_

 _Yes, and currently planning on asking his teacher a list of questions,_ Blue said as she sat next to her and nuzzled her neck. _How are Shiro and Keith?_

Red paused her grooming and folded her paws. _Confused, although he didn’t speak of it much last night._ She shook her head. _It did take him awhile to fall asleep until I started to purr at him again._

Blue tilted her head. _Why is he confused? Lance seemed delighted._

 _Keith has become quite...attached to his teacher as another mentor. I imagine he is processing on him being a protector of us as well._ She growled. _Not that we cats need protecting._

Blue poked her with her paw. _You say that, Sister, and yet we ended up hiding with humans for our own safety in the first place._

Red’s ears folded back on her head and lay down on the floor. _Yes, well, we can protect our humans without help._

Blue scoffed in amused. Red was always such a prideful one. _Where is our eldest sister?_

 _Along with Shiro,_ Red answered. _He spoke of going to the library again for research and Black insisted on accompanying him. I believe she wished to keep a closer eye on him._

 _I see,_ Blue remarked thoughtfully. _Yellow and Green are having the same concerns. When I last saw them, neither of them dared to leave them alone at home. They were even discussing of attempting to follow them to school._

Red nodded as she raised her head. _I will never understand why we are not allowed inside that ‘school’ place._

Blue had a feeling the children would learn nothing if the cats were always there to interfere, but she kept that thought to herself.

 _Even so, at least we know they have those Blade humans there to protect them,_ Blue said as she rested her head against her sister’s back. 

_I suppose,_ Red commented. _But that doesn’t mean I’m letting my guard down._

 _That is something we can fully agree on,_ Blue thought as she shut her eyes. _Now I’m going to have a nap while I can._

Red scoffed. _Didn’t you just wake up?_

 _Yes, and the walk here was quite exhausting. Now, hush, good pillows don’t talk back._

Red growled, but lay still as Blue began to doze. They could worry and fret later, right now was the proper time for a nap.

080808080808080808080808080808080808080

“So do you guys have secret codes and handshakes?” Lance stood on his tiptoes as he leaned over the desk. “Or do you just have a secret greeting you give each other?”

Thace said as he rubbed his eyes. “No, and no, and shouldn’t you be outside for recess?”

Hunk raised his hand. “You did say that if we had any questions we could ask you during recess or after class.”

“That was regarding homework,” Thace retorted, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t believe it is an appropriate time to have this chat.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Well, when is it then? Because frankly I got some questions for you that I like some answers too.”

Thace sighed. He would be lying if he said he didn’t predict this as an outcome. Children could be persistent in wanting answers...especially when one of them was Lance.

“Very well,” Thace said as he shut his binder. “After school, before you leav,e I’ll try to answer any questions you may, but I can’t promise I can answer all of them.”

Lance arched an eyebrow. “Why? Because you got some hidden agenda that you’re trying to keep us from knowing about?” He grasped his chin like he was in deep thought. “Like a secret army of ninjas? Or maybe you’re all actually aliens from outer space?!”

Thace narrowed his eyes as he stared back at Lance. “You’ve been reading your brother’s comics again haven’t you?”

“Perhaps,” Lance said as he pointed at him, “but I note you’re not denying it.”

Thace chuckled as he rose. “Lance, I may be a lot of things, but I can assure you an alien isn’t one of them.”

“Them...what about a vampire?”

“Okay, time to go,” Hunk said as he proceeded to drag Lance out of the room. “Come on, guys, we can bug him about it later. I think Lance needs some fresh air.”

Pidge pouted, but gave a reluctant nod as she followed and glanced to Thace. “I’m holding you to those questions later.”

Thace smiled as she left, and then suddenly realized he still felt a pair of small eyes on him. He turned, finding Keith hiding in the corner with a book tuckered under his arm.

“Aren’t you going to join them?” Thace asked as he pointed.

Keith rubbed his neck. “In..a minute,” he muttered as he handed over the book. “I...finished it.”

“Ah, I see,” Thace said as he took it and put it back on the shelf. “Is there another book would you like to borrow?”

Keith didn’t smile and lowered his eyes to stare at his shoes. 

“Keith?” Thace said gently as he kneeled. “Is there something you wish to discuss with me?”

Keith chewed his bottom lip. “Was it all...just because of the cats?”

Thace frowned. “What was?”

Keith raised his head and gestured to the bookshelf. “This! Lending me books, taking time to make certain I like this school, being nice to me..was it just because you were trying to protect the cats?”

Thace’s eyes widened and then softened. “No,” he said as patted Keith’s shoulder. “To be honest, it was part of the reason, but this is how I’ve always taught and Kolivan’s has always taken a top priority on how new students adjust to this school.”

He gave Keith a small smile. “I have taken a oath to protect the spring and it’s secrets, but I also take being your teacher very seriously. I do care greatly about your well being.”

Keith’s shoulders seemed to relaxed. “So, you giving me extra attention-”

“Was because you are new and I wish to help you,” Thace continued as he rose. “If I only cared about keeping you and the other kids safe, I would attempt to find ways to keep you four in detention so I wouldn’t have to worry about you wandering off.”

Keith blinked dumbly, until he saw Thace’s smirk and rolled his eyes. “Ha, ha, very funny.”

“You’re a smart boy, Keith,” Thace said as he turned to his bookshelf and selected a book. “As your teacher, I only wish to encourage you to reach your potential.” He place the book into Keith’s hands. “And it is the same for Lance, Hunk and Pidge. That fact that I am trying to keep you and the cats safe only add to that.”

Keith fingered the cover thoughtfully. “You should a lot like Shiro.”

 _That’s hardly surprising,_ Thace thought as he placed a hand to Keith’s back and pointed to the door. “Now I suggest you go catch up to your friends,” he gave a chuckle, “or Lance will start to believe I’m abducted you to my planet.”

“Alright,” Keith said as he walked off and paused. “Also...um thanks.” The boy didn’t turn around before he vanished through the doorway.

Thace smiled as he sat back in the chair, but his thoughts turned grim he recalled the looming danger. “Here’s hoping we’re able to keep you safe.”


	10. Chapter 10

Shiro knew taking Black to the library probably wasn’t the wises of decisions to make, but frankly he had little say in the matter. Black refused to leave his side the moment he woke up, and jumped into the car as soon as he opened a door.

Shiro could have yanked Black out, but with the stubbornness held in her eyes the end results with be hissing and likely having to get the seat repaired from the claw marks she would leave. Taking Black along for the ride to the library was the less destructive option.

However, once at the library he realized he had no choice except to take her inside. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Black in the car when he had no sweet clue how long his research would take inside. Besides, the second Shiro opened the car door Black jumped over his lap, landed on the ground and then scurried to the library steps.

Black was just refusing to be left behind this time. 

_It’s probably against the rules,_ Shiro thought as he climbed the steps and Black followed him inside. _But there’s barely anyone here. Maybe Slav won’t even noticed her._

Thankfully, lucked seemed to be on his side as he spotted no other living sole. He spotted Slav restaking some books, but the librarian didn’t bother to turn his head which made it easy for Shiro to slip by.

“You got to be quiet, girl,” Shiro whispered as he pressed a lip to his fingers. “I imagine Slav won’t be thrilled having you here...no offense.”

Black twitched her whiskers, but remained silent as Shiro gathered up some books and went to read them at one of the tables. He spent the next half hour reading in hopes of finding any new information on the spring, but found nothing.

He caught himself yawning as he shut the book and glanced to the chair where Black had nestled herself in. “I should have bought myself a coffee to stay awake.”

“Don’t you dare! The risk of me getting burned by you dropping it is at least 30 percent.”

Shiro cringed at the voice and forced a smile as he turned around to see Slav scowling at him.

“Um, hey, morning?” Shiro greeted.

Slav huffed as he wheeled his book cart over and glanced over the books. “On another matter, did you have to take the oldest folklore books? The amount of dust in them causes my allergies to go up at least 20 percent.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll be lucky if I’m not sneezing like crazy when I have to put them away.”

Shiro massaged his forehead. “Couldn’t you ask one of the other librarians to do it for you?”

Slav arched an eyebrow like he was questing Shiro’s insanity. “With their unwashed hands? Of course not! Honestly you-” He paused as his eyes landed onto the chair next to Shiro. “Did..you bring in that cat?”

Shiro froze and gulped as he glanced to Black rapidly wishing he had covered her with his jacket or something. “Um..yes,” Shiro said slowly as he gave a shaky smile. “Sorry, but she was kind of insistent.”

Slav frowned, and Shiro braced himself for a full blown lecture about the percentage rating of cats scratching up the book shelves. Yet, to Shiro’s shock, Slav titled his head in a thoughtful manner.

“Huh,” Slav said and then shook his head. “Interesting, cats don’t normally wish to come in here.” 

Shiro blinked in shock and shrugged. “Wait..that’s it?”

Slav stroked his beard as he looked over Black. “Well, you’re technically not suppose to let cats in here, but as long as she’s stays quiet like this I’ll allow it.”

Shiro’s mouth opened slightly. “So you’re fine with her?”

Slav arched an eyebrow. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

Shiro scratched his head. “Well...she is a black cat, and I thought you might be afraid she brought back luck or something.”

Slav scoffed and shook his head. “Gracious, don’t tell me you actually believe that old superstition.” He shook a finger at Shiro. “Believing in such childish things is such a waste of time.”

Shiro’s eyes twitched. He had never believed it, but considering some of Slav’s habits he had figured he would have.

“Anyway, as long as she stays quiet and doesn’t make a mess, she’s fine to be here,” he stated and eyed the pile of books on the table. “Also, don’t you dare but those books back yourself. I have a hard enough time trying to keep my staff consistent in organizing.”

Shiro had suddenly felt pity for the other librarians that had to work under Slav. He didn’t want to think what kind of rules he had set for them while working here.

Slav sighed to himself as he stepped back to his book cart. “Although, I will say you are at least more tidy than that other man with the eyepatch.”

Shiro paused as he looked to Slav. “Other man?”

Slav shrugged. “A visitor that has been dropping in a few times, has an ‘S’ name,” he snapped his fingers. “Simon? Samuel?”

Shiro swallowed. “Sendak?”

Slav snapped his fingers. “That was it!” He gave a nod. “He definitely looks the type that would mark pages by folding the corners. I swear he better not even think of-”

“Is he here?” Shiro asked as he stood. “In the library?”

Slav scratched his cheek. “Well, yes, over the by historical section.” He placed his hands on his hips. “Why? Is he a friend of yours?”

“Not likely,” Shiro muttered. He glanced to Black and saw she had raised her head intrigued.

Slav glanced to his watched. “I need to go. If I don’t get these books put away, then I’ll be late for my eight minute coffee break and that will just throw my whole day off.”

Shiro gave a shaky nod. “Uh...yeah, understood.” He waved. “Nice chatting with you.”

Slav made an unimpressed face as he rolled the book cart away from him. Shiro dropped his arm to his side and looked to Black.

“If Sendak’s here, perhaps it’s a good chance to do a bit of investigating,” he whispered.

Black responded with a meow before leaping off the chair and walked off. Shiro had to hurry to catch up to her, but the cat stopped once they reached the history section. They both ducked behind a book shelf to keep out of sight. Shiro discreetly poked his head around the self and spotted Sendak.

He sat at a table with his back to him as he flipped through a large bound book. He had a black bag sitting on the floor next to his chair. Shiro’s eyes hardened. _What could he be looking for? More information on the cats? Or could it be something else?_

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder from behind. He tried to yelp, but another hand was placed over his mouth as he was spun around. He prepared himself for an attack, but instantly relax upon seeing Ulaz’s face. The doctor placed a finger to his lip as he removed his hand.

“Sorry,” he whispered, “I did not mean to alarm you, but I did not wish to alert Sendak of our presence.”

Shiro nodded as he stepped further behind the bookshelf. “Why are you here?”

“Antok called me saying he spotted Sendak heading in here, and asked me to follow,” Ulaz said as he pretend to be flipping through a book. “I have no patients this morning and he thought I would blend in better than he would.”

Shiro couldn’t argue against that. He had only seen Antok once when Nyma and Rolo were arrested, but with the scar on his cheek and his regular uniform there’s was no denying he would attract more attention than Ulaz in a heartbeat.

Shiro peeked around the shelf. “So, what do you think he’s doing here?”

“I don’t know,” Ulaz muttered. “From what I’ve seen, he’s mostly been in the folklore section and then looked up a couple maps of the town.”

Shiro’s eyes hardened. “When I first bumped into him, he was looking up folklore. I’m willing to bet it’s about the cats.”

“Agreed,” Ulaz continued but then paused as he glanced down. “Speaking of such, I see you have the black one with you today.”

Shiro looked down and blushed slightly. “Uh, yeah, she kind of insisted she come with me.”

Black peeked her around the shelf as she flicked her tail.

Ulaz chuckled slightly. “After what I witness at the soccer practice, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Shiro nodded, but then froze as they saw Sendak get up from the table and leave his bag behind. Shiro’s eyes hardened as he looked to Ulaz.

“Is it wrong I’m severely tempted to glance through that bag of his for a clue while he’s gone?”

“No,” Ulaz replied as he crossed his arms, “but it’s risky. I doubt he’ll be gone long and we would have a difficult time explaining ourselves if he caught us.”

Shiro sighed and nodded. “That’s what I thought. Maybe we better-Black?! Get back here?!”

Black left and walked quietly up to the table. Shiro went to catch her, but Ulaz stopped him.

“Wait, let’s see what she does,” Ulaz whispered. 

Shiro reluctantly held back as they watch Black approached the bag. She glanced back and forth, before standing up on her hind legs and then promptly crawled right into the bag. If Shiro wasn’t so paranoid of Sendak coming back, he would have laughed as the bag moving back and forth like it had a life of it’s own.

Then, after an agonizing few seconds, Black jumped back out carrying a small pad of paper into her mouth. She raced back to Shiro and daintily placed the pad of paper at the bottom of his feet.

Shiro sighed as he kneeled. “And here I thought I had to worry about Keith being a little dare devil.” Black rubbed her head against him as Shiro picked up the pad of paper.

“Is there anything useful on it?” Ulaz asked as he looked over Shiro’s shoulder.

“Not much,” Shiro said as he flipped through the pages. “Just scribbles on places of names and-”

He forgot his sentence as he flipped the next page. There was a list of names. His own and the kids. Shiro’s name was crossed out, as well were Lance and Keith’s, but Hunk and Pidge’s names were circled.

Shiro swallowed as he handed it over to Ulaz. “What do you make of this?”

Ulaz’s eyes narrowed as he took it. “Nothing good. It’s not enough proof to have him arrested, but it does confirm he is targeting the children.”

Shiro’s hands tightened into fists. He knew the chances of it were high, but to see it in his writing? No, no way. No way would he let him have those kids.

Black’s soft meow brought Shiro back to to present and he forced himself to take a deep breath. “Any idea on what we should do now?”

Ulaz kneeled and held out the pad of paper back to Black. “I suggest we first have our furry friend put this back in Sendak’s bag before he realizes it’s missing.”

Shiro barely nodded before Black took the pad, ran to drop it back into the bag and raced back to Shiro seconds before Sendak appeared again.

Shiro scooped up Black into his arms as he tried to keep hidden behind the bookcase. “Let’s get out of here before he sees us.”

Ulaz nodded as he placed a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Let’s return to my clinic. I can call Antok to meet us there and we can inform him together on what we found.”

“Sounds good,” Shiro said softly before he shot one more glare in Sendak’s direction.

He didn’t care what it took, but Shiro was going to keep those kids and the cats safe from him.

0808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Green dug her claws into the branch as she watched the school children leave the building. As she felt Yellow hop onto the same branch, she didn’t even bother to turn her head.

_Any developments, Sister?_ Yellow asked as she gazed over the children.

_So far, nothing,_ Green growled as she spotted Pidge and the other children leave the building. _I haven’t seen any sign of Sendak._

Although, that hadn’t been surprising. Green had suspected Sendak wouldn’t dare make a move in daylight where other human adults were in plain sight.

_Not surprising,_ Yellow growled as she lowered her head to reveal Chulatt who had been riding her back. _Black send word by the mice, and apparently he has spent all day in the library._

Green growled as Chulatt confirmed with a nod. _What business does he have there?_

_Don’t know,_ Yellow said as she narrowed her eyes and locked her gaze to where Hunk bent over to tie his shoe. _But it’s very likely he is targeting our children in particular._

Green felt her body tense as she bared her teeth. She knew it. Green had wished she’d been wrong, but she knew it in her bones.

Suddenly, a car pulled up to the front of the school. Green’s body stiffened, wondering if she would have to act, but then Shiro came out of the driver’s seat and waved to the children.

Green sighed as she relaxed. _For a second, I feared that was Sendak._

_Same,_ Yellow said as she watched the kids pile into the car. _Apparently, Black also heard Shiro call the parents and ask if he could pick up their children for them._

_Wishing to keep his eyes on them,_ Green concluded. _I do not blame him. If Sendak is after them, then he is likely to make his move sooner rather than later._

_When he does he will regret it,_ Yellow growled. 

_No argument,_ Green replied as Chulatt fiddled with a leaf. _But it does mean we can’t leave our children alone at any moment._

_That may be tricky,_ Yellow comment as the car began to drive away. _Come, we best get home before our children wonder where we are._

Green nodded as she kneeled to let Chulatt ride her back before they proceeded to hop from tree to tree back home.


	11. Chapter 11

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Keith tugged at his fake armour and still felt unsure of having it on.

“I’m suppose to be a knight,” Keith told Red sitting next to him, “but I don’t think they wear armour made of cardboard...or painted red.”

Red tilted her head as she gave a confused meow. The boy sighed as he fingered the fake sword. “I’m really starting to have second thoughts about this.”

“Keith, you ready?” Shiro poked his head into Keith’s room and grinned at him. “Hey, you look great!”

“No, I doubt,” Keith said with a pout. “I look silly!”

“No way, you look cool,” Shiro insisted as he entered and displayed his costume. “And I should know since I’m your squire.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I still don’t get why you jumped on these costumes?”

“Because it seemed like a fun idea,” Shiro said as he looked into the mirror and kneeled next to Keith. “Besides, it was super nice of Lance’s family to lend us these costumes on short notice.”

That was true. The knight and squire costumes had been Lance and his dad’s outfits last year for Halloween. They were clearly homemade, but he had to admit they looked decent. Far better than anything he and Shiro ever made, despite Shiro’s best efforts. It wasn’t Shiro’s fault he didn’t have much experience sewing.

“I’m still not sure about going to this thing,” Keith muttered as he kneeled to pat Red.

“It’ll be fun,” Shiro replied as he crossed his arms. “Besides, you already promised the others you would go, right?”

“Only because Lance wouldn’t stop pestering me about it,” Keith mumbled as Red purred and Black entered the room. 

The last few days had been a blur. Between Coran trying to get his haunted house together, and Keith still processing the existence of the Blade of Marmora, the Halloween festival seemed so trivial in comparison.

“Look, it’ll be fun and frankly I think we could all use some after the stress we’ve been under lately,” Shiro said as he ruffled Keith’s hair.

Keith sighed as he stood up and crossed. “Yeah, alright, but I’m not sure if the cats would agree.”

He glanced to Red and Black. All the cats had been rather on edge for the last few days, especially Green and Yellow, and they were usually more laid back.

Shiro cringed. “Yeah..well, the cats are going to stay behind this time.”

The cats whipped their heads around and locked their gazes onto Shiro. Keith raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because it’s going to be crowded and will be a lot harder to keep an eye on them,” Shiro explained as he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I discussed it over with Kolivan and we both agreed the cats would be safer if kept them here.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Shiro, they’re magical cats. They don’t need looking after.”

Black and Red both gave disgruntled growls in full agreement.

“And yet, Nyma and Rolo almost managed to steal away Blue last summer,” Shiro said which caused the cats to go quiet. “I just think they’ll be much happier here, away from the noise.”

Keith frowned, but then thought of all the noise and people that would be there. He didn’t like loud places on a regular day, and Red could be even worse at him at times. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

Red huffed as she narrowed her eyes.

“It’ll just be for a few hours,” Keith stated. “I doubt you’ll be missing much anyway.”

Shiro nodded. “Especially since I already told the others to do the same, and they agreed.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Even Lance?”

He couldn’t see Lance giving in that easily. Lance would jump at the chance of Blue coming along. Bet he even planned a little outfit for her.

Shiro coughed. “Not at first,” he stated, “but I was able to convince with Kolivan’s help.”

“Ah,” Keith said slowly. That would explain it. 

Shiro glanced to the clock and whistled. “Oh boy, and we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.”

Black and Red meowed as they followed the boys down the hall. “You’ll be fine.” Shiro reassured them as Keith picked up the pillow case he was suppose to use to collect candy. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“Okay,” Keith said as he cast one more glanced to the cats. “We’ll be back soon. I’ll try to find a treat to bring back for you two.”

The cats gave a displease growl as they left and shut the door behind them.

“Shiro, are you sure this is a good idea?” Keith asked.

“The cats can’t always come with us,” Shiro replied as he reached for his keys from his pocket and opened the car door. “Don’t worry, kiddo. They’ll probably curl up to have a nice nap or something.

Inside the house, Red and Black continued to stare at the door before they glanced to each other.

_Sister, are we really going to stand for this?_ Red asked.

_Hardly,_ Black huffed. _We’ll just have to get there ourselves._

_What about the others?_ Red narrowed her eyes. _Should we fetch them first-_

A squeak cut her off as Plachu’s head appeared under the door. He wiggled until he slid under the door and squeaked rapidly at them.

_Ah,_ Red purred. _So, Green, Blue and Yellow have already gone ahead and will meet us at the old oak tree._

Plachu gave a firm nod as Black lowered her head to let him climb up. _Let’s be off then._ Black stood as she twitched her whiskers to cast her magic on the doorknob and caused it to open.

_Honestly, when will our humans learn we can never be left behind?_ Red grumbled as they walked through and she used her magic to shut and locked the door.

_Someday, but not today,_ Black said as she felt Plachu dig into her fur before she jumped up into a tree. _Let’s take the shortcut._

Red growled in agreement as she quickly caught up to her. 

080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Keith spotted the group immediately. They were waiting outside the bakery with Allura. Lance was dressed as a shark, Hunk was wearing a labcoat with a pair of goggles and Pidge seemed to be some kind of robot with a cardboard chestplate and helmet.

Shiro smiled as he waved to them. “Happy Halloween!”

Allura gazed up and Keith suddenly realized she had a giant pair of mouse ears on her head. “Happy Halloween to you as well.” She smiled as she looked them over. “You both look very dashing.”

Keith raised an eyebrow as she looked her over. “Are..trying to be a mouse?”

“Yes, isn’t it darling?” Allura said as she showed off the fluffy long coat that had a tail sewn in the back. “I made it myself.”

Pidge sighed as she crossed her arms. “I kept trying to tell her she should be an alien instead, but she refused.”

“What’s wrong with being a mouse?” Keith asked.

“Because mice aren’t scary, and it’s lame,” Lance moaned. 

“And being a shark isn’t lame?” Keith asked as he pointed at his costume.

“Nope, sharks are mega cool and scary,” Lance said as he made his fins flap. “Hunk was almost a chef, but I convinced him to be a mad scientist instead.”

Hunk sighed as he adjusted his goggles. “Hey, I only agreed because Pidge said she would be my out of control robot.”

Keith tilted his head as he thought it over. “Pidge being out of control...yeah, that is scary.”

Pidge grinned with pride as Shiro patted both of their shoulders and laugh. “Let’s just agree we all have good costumes.” He glanced to Lance and Hunk. “So, where are your folks?”

“Mine are running a stall selling food, and handing out candy,” Lance explained as he crossed his fins. “Hunk’s are in his bakery giving out cookies to any trick or treaters that come.”

“And slices of pumpkin bread,” Hunk stated proudly. “That was my idea.”

Keith gave a nod, although he wasn’t certain what the big deal of pumpkin bread was. “So..what do we do?”

“Trick or treat,” Allura stated. “Basically, we’ll go around the different stalls and each vendor should have a treat to give you.”

“Yeah, but the ones hosting games are the best,” Pidge said with an evil grin. “They’ll give you a choice of a ‘trick’.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Which entails?”

“Just playing one of their games and winning a prize,” Allura said as she patted his shoulder. “There is also the haunted house competition that Coran is taking part in.”

Keith frowned as he glance to her. “Where is he doing that?”

It couldn’t be at the clinic. It was too far of a walk from here.

“People that are competing rent tents and that they can decorate however they want,” Pidge explained. “We can check his and Varkon’s out later.”

Hunk shivered. “Can we please not? I hate haunted houses.”

“But they’re like the best part of Halloween-” Lance argued, but was cut off as Shiro ruffled his hair. 

“Let’s just start off with some trick or treating,” Shiro suggested.

“Yes, let’s,” Allura said looking relieved at the change of subject. “We do have a busy night ahead of us.”

Keith nodded, but then paused as he heard something and turned around. He looked among the shadows of the booths and glowing carved pumpkins, but saw nothing.

“Keith?” Shiro asked.

The boy shook his head. “Sorry,guess my eyes are playing tricks on me.”

“It’s Halloween, it’s bound to happen,” Pidge stated as she tugged on his hand. “Come on, I want to hit one of the game booths first.”

Keith nodded as he went to catch up.

Nearby, dressed in his vampire costume, Sendak chuckled to himself. “Kid is sharp. Going to have to watch my step.”

He glanced over to one of the booths and decided to fetch a coffee. He was going to need the extra caffeine. 

0808080808080808080808080808080808080

From atop their tree, Green heard another dog paw at the trunk and attempt to bark at them. She resisted to hiss as the dog’s owner tugged his leash and dragged him away. _Why, did we agree to meet here?_ She glanced to her sisters. _All the dogs walks are near here._

_And it’s also the tallest tree here,_ Yellow commented as she gazed over the crowd of people running about. _We have the best view here._

Red tilted her head at the sight. _I still don’t understand why they’re wearing those costumes._

_It’s a human thing,_ Blue said as she let the mice crawl up her back to see. _They have this bizarre desire to pretend to be something else they’re not._ She purred in amusement. _It’s very cute._

_Cute or not, it’s annoying,_ Red grumbled with a huff. _It’s harder to tell where the children are._

_Agreed, so I suggest we split up into two groups,_ Black voiced as she stood up. _Blue, Red you’re with me on the western half. Yellow and Green you’re take the eastern half._

_May the mice come with us?_ Yellow asked as she looked over to them. _They do make a good extra pair of eyes...and they’re good at finding snacks._

Black chuckled as she nodded approvingly and the mice squeaked as they squirred over to climb up on Yellow’s back. _That is fine, but make certain to keep your guard up._ Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the crowd. _With this many humans here, it would be easy for that Sendak to try something and slip through the cracks._

Green snorted as she jumped to a lower branch. _Don’t have to tell me twice. Let’s go, Yellow._

Growling protectively, Yellow followed Green to the ground as the mice waved to the others. _Let’s just hope tonight turns out to be boring._

_That would be the best result,_  
Green muttered. As they ducked behind a bench to hide and watched several pairs of feet walk past, Green shook her head. It was going to be difficult to locate their kids in this crowd and she prayed nothing would find them before they did.

08080808080808080808080808080808080

Kolivan refused to wear a costume. While he could understand the appeal for people to wear them, he rather make certain he was free to move freely and not be confindine to useless clothing if there was a danger afoot.

He adjusted the collar of his coat as he avoided bumping into people and approached the resting area. It was the place where if people were becoming overwhelmed by the noise and the crowds could escape to recompose themselves. 

As expected, Antok leaned against the fence and waved at him. He hadn’t bothered to wear a costume either although for him it was due to him acting as head of security for the event. Besides, Kolivan knew trying to find a costume that would fit the man’s size was a task upon itself.

Kolivan stood next to him and crossed his arms. “Anything new to report?”

Antok sighed. “My men spotted Sendak slipping out into some kind of vampire costume and he seems to be attending the festival.”

Kolivan’s eyes hardened. “What does he want to do at the festival?”

“Don’t know, I already have my best men trailing him and I told them to stay out of sight,” Antok replied as he turned his head. “Where are the kids?”

“They’re at the festival as well, but they have Shiro and Allura with them,” Kolivan stated.

Antok sighed. “Would have been safer if they stayed at home.”

“Be rather hard to convince them unless we told them the whole story, and then we would have to explain it to their families as well” Kolivan replied as he rubbed his neck. “We don’t want to worry any of them unless we need to.”

It was hard to balance. They were duty bound to keep the secret of the Spring of Voltron safe, and yet they had to ensure none of the children were harmed. Not to mention they had to be careful for Sendak to not become aware they were on to him, but that was becoming more difficult by the day.

“Yes, I know,” Antok said with a growl. “Be a lot easier if I could just arrest the guy, but we don’t have anything solid enough for it.”

Kolivan nodded. “Both Thace and Ulaz are making rounds and will not be far if there’s any trouble.”

“And you?” Antok asked.

“I’m going to see them once I’m done talking to you,” Kolivan replied, “and then see Shiro myself.”

“In that case don’t let me keep you,” Antok said as he stood. “It’s time for my men to check in with a status update.”

Kolivan nodded and went to leave, but was stopped when Antok placed a hand on his shoulder. “One more thing,” he said earnestly, “don’t go into Coran’s haunted house.”

Kolivan blinked and arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because the idiot has music blasting out from the tent. I already had to give him a warning of turning down the volume. If you go in, your ears will be ringing for the rest of the night like mine are.”

Kolivan chuckled. “The tradition continues. At least he’s not using silly string like he did last year.”

Antok scowled as he twitched an eye. “I hate Halloween.”

Kolivan patted his shoulder. “It’s just the one night, old friend.” 

He offered him one more small smile before he left and returned to the bustling crowd.

After he left Antok sighed as he poked at his eardrums again.

“I swear, one of these years I should just try to have haunted houses be outlawed,” Antok grumbled.

“Sir, sir, can you read me?”

Antok paused and reached for his walkie talkie form his belt. “What is it, Regris?”

“Sir, we’ve lost sight of him.”

Antok froze. “What?”

“We tracked Sendak down to the park, but then somehow he gave us the slip.”

Antok’s grip tightened. “How is that even possible?”

They had been tracking him for weeks. They had all of his habits, and movements memorized. It didn’t seem possible.

Antok heard Regris swallowed. “I’ve been thinking, Sir. Sendak was a highly trained former soldier, and if Zarkon had bothered to hire him in the past he must possess some unique skills.”

Antok frowned as he brought the walkie talkie closer to his ear. “Yes, but what’s your point, Regris?”

“What if, Sendak has been playing us this whole time?”

Antoks’ eyes widened and suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

“I’m starting to believe,” Regris voice continued, “he knew were tracking him-”

Antok spun around, but not before something hard whacked into the side of his head. Antok flew backwards, dropping the walkie talking and collided in the near by fence.

He tried to stagger to his feet, but a fist punched him back down. Antok looked up, to see Sendak grinning as he loomed over him.

“You lot play a fun game,” he sneered with a laugh, “but now games are over.”

Antok craved to attack, but the pain in his head made it impossible before the darkness took over and he gave into it.


	12. Chapter 12

“Here you go, kids!” Mister Anderson said, dressed as a lion, as he finished giving them his ‘treats’. “Don’t eat it all at once! Happy Halloween!”

Pidge glanced into the bag and did her best to give a smile. “Uh..yeah, thanks,” she said. “You too!”

However, internally, Pidge just groaned inside. _Every year! Why does he do this every year?!_

She glanced to see Lance sharing the same unimpressed look. Keith just looked confused while Hunk grinned like he had been given a giant chocolate cake.

“Awesome, he gave us good stuff this year,” Hunk said as he looked into his bag.

Pidge raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Of course, you would say that.”

“Um...I haven’t done a lot of trick or treating,” Keith said as he reached into the bag and pulled out a carrot, “but aren’t adults supposed to give you ‘candy’?” He looked to Allura. “Or is this a ‘trick’?”

“No, it’s his ‘treat’,” Lance said as he pulled out his green and red peppers, “every year, instead of giving candy like any normal adults would, Mister Anderson gives us vegetables.”

“Well, he does grow them for a living,” Allura replied with a smile, “and I think it’s very sweet of him to do so.” She looked to Shiro for encouragement. “Wouldn’t you agree, Shiro?”

Shiro coughed into his hand. “Um..well, it’s different.”

“Oh, come on,” Pidge whined as she pulled out her turnip. “What am I supposed to do with this? I don’t even like turnip.”

“But turnips are so tasty in stews,” Hunk said as he beamed and looked into his bag, “although, I will admit, it isn’t as good as what he gave me.”

The kids looked into his bag and blinked to each other in confusion.

“Did...did Mister Anderson give you jalapeno peppers?” Lance asked in disbelief.

“Oh yeah,” Hunk said as he reached for one. “Mom must have mentioned to him I’ve been wanting to cook with them more. Oh! And he gave me a good looking apple too! Bonus!”

Keith rubbed his eyes. “I never thought I say this...but this is weirder than us having magical cats.”

“No argument here,” Pidge grumbled and looked to Allura. “Can we go check out some of the haunted houses?”

Allura nodded. “Yes, but I promised Coran we would visit his first.” 

“As you should, I am told it’s a sight to behold.”

The group turned around to see Thace as he gave a small wave to them. “Happy Halloween, children. Having a good one I hope?”

Lance blinked as he looked him over. “Wait, you’re not wearing a costume.”

Thace glanced down as his jacket and jeans. “No, I am not.”

“But it’s Halloween! Shouldn’t you be dressed up as like a ninja or something?”

Shiro patted his shoulder. “Not everyone likes to dress up, Lance.”

“Besides, him dressing up as a ‘secret ninja’ would kind of give away his whole secret identity, wouldn’t?” Keith asked.

“I wouldn’t exactly state it like that,” Thace said with a shrug, “but, close enough.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed slightly as he moved in closer. “Speaking of which..has there been any trouble tonight?”

Thace frowned and shook his head. “None, it’s all been quiet.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “What kind of trouble were you expecting?”

Shiro kneeld and smiled. “Oh, you know, the traditional worrying of teenagers tossing toilet paper over houses and such.”

Pidge couldn’t place her finger on it, but there was something Shiro wasn’t saying. “Really? Just that?”

Allura coughed as she gently began to push Pidge forward. “Come, come, we must not be late and we want to have time to see everything.”

Pidge wanted to question further, but the others quickly followed and Thace became occupied of Lance pestering him with more questions. She sighed and let herself be dragged along. It was probably nothing anyway.

Unbeknownst to Pidge, Sendak grinned as he began to walk from his hiding spot. He nearly wanted to laugh. This was going to be far too easy.

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“Welcome to Coran’s house of horrors!” Coran exclaimed as his long red cape flapped in the red.

Hunk blinked as he looked over Coran’s armoured outfit which included a helmet that Hunk was amazed he could see in.

“Um...what are you supposed to be?” Lance asked as he tilted his head.

“A great warrior, clearly!” Coran held out his cape and frowned. “I originally had a speaker attached to this cape to make it talk, but dang thing proved too heavy.”

“Why would you want a cape that talks?” Keith asked.

“Because it’s scary!” Coran said as he kneeled and wiggled fingers. “A haunted cape? How is that not classic horror?”

Shiro raised his hand and looked ready to say something, but Allura forced him to put it down. “Just leave it be,” she whispered.

“Um…” Hunk said as he peered inside the dark tent, “so how scary is it in there exactly?”

“Oh, nothing extreme, I assure you,” Coran said with a smile. “Wouldn’t recommend for small children, but there’s nothing there that would frighten you too badly, my boy.”

Hunk remained skeptical as he pointed to the entrance. “You say that, and yet your meatloaf recipe alone gave me nightmares for weeks.”

“Aw, come on, Hunk, it’ll be fun,” Lance said as he leaned against Hunk. “Besides, we’ll be right there with you.”

Hunk sighed as he felt a knot in his stomach. He never liked haunted houses, not even the really lame ones. Yet, if he didn’t go in, Lance would keep pestering him until he did.

“Alright, fine,” he grumbled.

“Shiro should stay behind though,” Keith said as he turned to him. “He hates loud music.”

“I wouldn’t say I hate it,” Shiro said with a chuckle, “but can’t say I care for it.” He glanced to Allura. “You okay going in with them without me?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Allura said with a smile as narrowed her eyes at Coran. “Along as there isn’t any silly string this year.”

Coran gave a nervous smile. “Aw, Allura, it wasn’t that bad-”

“It took me weeks to get that stuff out of my hair,” Allura muttered sourly as Pidge snickered.  
“I’ll stay out here with Shiro then,” Thace said as he looked over the tent. “I don’t tend to handle loud music well either and,” he looked to Shiro, “we shall probably have some matters to discuss.”

Pidge tilted her head. “What kind of-”

“Arrg, who cares, let’s go already,” Lance said as he dragged Pidge and Hunk inside the tent. “It’s not Halloween until I scream myself silly!”

Hunk sighed as he glanced back to check Allura and Keith were close behind him. The music was even louder inside. Hunk was certain his eardrums were shaking. He now felt very glad he didn’t bring Yellow along. If she hated when his sister played her music, she be plotting to take out Coran’s tent.

There were plastic monsters statues scattered throughout the tent, which Hunk had to admit he found more confusing than scary. He didn’t quite get what each of them were supposed to be, and the glow in the dark paint Coran had covered them with didn’t help much. They looked either to be some kind of creepy animal or robot..or maybe both? It was hard to tell.

“This is kind of lame,” Lance yelled over the loud music.

“What?” Keith said as he covered his ears. “This music is too loud.”

“Agreed,” Allura said as she covered her ears and raced back to the entrance. “I’m going to insist to Coran he turn the music volume down. This is too much.”

Hunk sighed in relief as he walk between a giant lizard and some monster holding a giant mace. “Well, I’m glad for lame. I’ll take this over-”

His foot then stepped on something that felt like a button. A picture of a snarling werewolf jumped up from behind a box. Hunk squawked, as did the other kids. He instantly took a step back and suddenly his foot pressed another button.

A vampire wearing sunglasses popped up from behind him, and was quickly followed by a witch wearing a sun hat.

Hunk staggered and gripped onto Pidge for balance. “Not cool,” he grumbled, “I hate jump scares.”

Lance laughed as he wiped a tear. “Oh man, look at them, this is hilarious!” He gleefully looked around. “I wonder if Coran has other traps set up like this? I gotta check it out!”

“Lance, wait-” Keith began, but it proved too late as Lance began to gallop gleefully around the tent. He sighed as he looked to Pidge. “Maybe you should take Hunk outside? I’ll try to get Lance to calm down until Allura gets back.”

“Yes, please,” Hunk said as he hugged himself. “I’ve had enough horror tent.”

“It’s lame horror, but I get ya,” Pidge said as she pulled him forward. “Come on.”

It took a few minutes to find the back door. They ended up passing by a six armed ferret monster and a giant black cat wearing a bright pink bow. 

“I will never understand Coran’s decorating decisions,” Hunk muttered as they finally reached the exit.

Pidge took a gulp of fresh air. “That feels better. It was getting warm in there.” She pointed to back around the tent. “We should probably get back to Shiro, right?”

“In a minute,” Hunk said as he pointed to a bench and made a beeline for it. “I need to catch my breath.” He laid back and draped his hand over his face. He was feeling rather relieved there didn’t seem to be anyone in this small area between Coran and Varkon’s tents. They couldn’t even see Shiro and Thace who were likely still waiting at the front entrance. 

He took a deep breath as he felt more at ease in the silence. “My heart can’t take this,” he grumbled. “Next year, I’m just going to have a Scooby-Doo marathon at my house.”

Pidge laughed as she moved behind the bench. “Hey, come on, a little fear is good for you. Helps you stay alert.”

Hunk scoffed. “I got enough to worry about in my life to keep me alert, thank you very much.”

He expected Pidge to refute his statement, but she was silent. Hunk glanced around, but then froze. Pidge was gone.

“Pidge?” Hunk stood up, clutching his treat bag tightly and then his heart stopped as he saw Pidge’s bag dropped on the ground.

He gulped and nervously looked around. “Pidge, if this is a prank this isn’t funny.”

“It’s not meant to be.”

Hunk’s face went pale as he turned around. Standing next to a tree stood Sendak, who was currently holding a squirming Pidge in his grasp. She seemed to be dying to yell at the guy, but Sendak’s large hand over her mouth prevented her from doing so.

“If you don’t wish your friend to be hurt,” he said to Hunk. “You’ll follow me and not utter a word.”

Hunk swallowed as he gripped his treat bag to his chest. He wanted to scream for help, but what if Sendak hurt Pidge? Hunk’s eyes hardened, and against every common sense his mind was telling him, found himself following Sendak into the shadows of the night.

08080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Yellow sniffed at the fallen popcorn she had seen the toddler dressed up as a teddy bear drop. _Looks salty,_ she told Green and gave it a kick lick. _Correction, it is VERY salty._

The mice sniffed the popcorn, nibbled it and squeaked in agreement.

Green growled as she swiped at paw at her. _How can you think of food at a time like this?_

_We’re at a celebration where everyone is eating, it’s impossible not to,_ Yellow growled as she sniffed at the popcorn. _I know Hunk would-_

A wave of images and emotions suddenly struck. Yellow shook as she felt a mixture of fear and panic. Worse yet, she knew it wasn’t her fear. Images flashed her in her mind.

A scared Hunk walking into the woods following Sendak with a squirming Pidge in his grasp. The vision ended, but the fear lingered like a bitter aftertaste. Yellow shook her head as she struggled to regain her balance and saw her sister was doing the same.

_You sensed that?_ Yellow growled as she felt the urge to extend her claws. Someone was threatening her boy.

_Very much,_ Green growled. _Our kids are in trouble!_

_We need to find them now!_ Yellow shut her eyes as she tried to call to Hunk. More images came. Trees. Forest. Forest spirits. 

_They’re going to the woods,_ Yellow snarled and looked to the mice. _Find Black and the others. Tell them what happened and go fetch the humans._

Each of the mice straightened up and gave a salute before they scurried away through the crowd.

_Hurry,_ Yellow growled as she began to run. _There’s no time to waste._

Green quickly dashed after her as Yellow felt another wave of fear tingle through her.

_If that man hurts one hair on Hunk’s head, I will rip him to shreds,_ Yellow vowed as she felt her own magic inside stirred within her.

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Shiro glanced at his watch before he tucked his hand into his pocket. “They’ve been in there for awhile.”

“There is probably a lot to see,” Thace commented as he leaned forward, “at least they seem to be having fun.”

Shiro smiled. “Yeah, which is good. This is Keith’s real first outing on Halloween.” He then frowned and turned to him. “Any news on Sendak?”

“Antok has his men keeping their eyes on him,” Thace as he crossed his arms. “If he so much as blink we’ll know.”

Shiro nodded. He’d been worrying of bumping into the man, but if the Blades were keeping tabs on him it should be alright. “Where’s Kolivan?”

“Most likely checking the area,” Thace began, and then trailed off as he raised his head. “I stand corrected, he’s talking with Ulaz.” He pointed ahead.

Shiro turned, and spotted both Kolivan and Ulaz approach them with a small wave.

“Happy Halloween,” Ulaz greeted as he stepped aside to let some trick-or-treaters pass by. “Are the children enjoying themselves?”

“They’re currently inside Coran’s haunted house..er or tent,” Shiro said with a shrug. He wasn’t quite sure which correct term applied here.

Kolivan glanced to the tent and gave a solemn nod. “I’ve completed my rounds and all seems to be quiet.”

Thace frowned. “How is Antok?”

“Keeping alert,” he paused as he lifted his sleeve to check his watch. “Although, he was suppose to repot to me with a status update five minutes ago.”

Shiro frowned. “Is that a reason to be concerned?”

“Probably not,” Ulaz interjected as he patted Shiro’s shoulder. “It is Halloween, and Antok probably found some teens or someone attempting to play a prank. Sendak isn’t his only job tonight.”

_That’s fair,_ Shiro thought. _He is the sheriff, and does have a lot on his plate with that alone._

“Still, Antok does always trying to be punctual,” Kolivan stated. “It’s odd-”

A sharp ringing suddenly came from his pocket. Kolivan sternly frowned as he picked it up and sighed as he read the screen.

“The man’s knack for timing never ceases to amaze me,” he said aloud as he hit the button and placed it to his ear. “Antok, it’s about time..wait, Regris? Why are you calling-” Kolivan’s eyes narrowed. “Slow down, I can’t understand you.” His eyes widened in alarm and both Ulaz and Thace locked their gazes onto him. “Is Antok alright?”

Shiro’s body stiffened as he felt dread fill up inside him. Both Ulaz and Thace carried the same fear on their faces.

Kolivan was silent as he listened and then spoke with a growl. “Alright, I’ll send Ulaz over to check on him and you stay with him until he gets there. In the meantime, send every man we have available out now.”

Kolivan ended the chat, but the look of dread on his face never changed.

“What’s going on?” Shiro asked as he stood.

“Regris, one of our men, found Antok unconscious and tied up in his own car.”

“What?” Shiro exclaimed. “But how…” He face went pale. “Where’s Sendak?”

Kolivan growled. “That’s the other problem, they lost sight of him. Regris said he was in the middle of reporting it to Antok when he suddenly hung up. He got concerned and that’s where he found him.”

_No, no, no,_ Shiro thought. _This is bad._

“Ulaz, I need you to go to the quiet area and check on Antok,” Kolivan directed.

“I’ll go right now,” Ulaz said as he ran off. “I’ll call you once I’ve attended to him.”

Kolivan then took a deep breath and looked to Shiro. “And, given the circumstances, I believe it would be wise to take the children somewhere safe.”

Shiro cringed, but gave a nod. “They won’t like it, but we don’t have a choice.”

“What won’t we like?”

Shiro turned around to see Keith walking up with Allura and Lance behind him. The boy looked over the group and his eyes narrowed. “Shiro...did something bad happened?”

Shiro sighed as he kneeled and placed his hands on Keith’s shoulder. “Yeah, buddy, but we can’t explain it all here.” He did a headcount and frowned. “Where are Hunk and Pidge?”

Allura blinked, glanced around and froze. “Aren’t they here with you?”

“No,” Thace said with his face full of concern, “we’ve been waiting for you.”

“But they left the tent ages ago,” Lance replied. “Hunk needed some air-”

“And it took Allura forever to get Lance to stop running around everywhere,” Keith grumbled.

“Hey, I wasn’t running around that much-”

“Boys, not now,” Shiro said cut in and quickly went around the tent. “We have to check and see if they’re here.”

“I’ll go check the tent again, and see if they’re with Coran,” Allura said as she took off. 

The Blades, Shiro and the kids hastily checked around the area of the tent, and the other tents close by in case they had wandered off, but there was no sign of them.

Shiro was not liking this one bit.

“I don’t get it,” Lance muttered, “it’s not like Hunk or Pidge to just take off.”

Shiro’s eyes hardened as he looked to Kolivan and Thace. “You don’t think…”

“That Sendak’s unknown whereabouts and this are connected?” Thace stated and grimly growled. “I’m willing to bet it is.”

Keith’s eyes widened. “What does this have to do with Sendak?”

Lance hugged his candy bag to his chest. “Is..Sendak a bad guy?”

Shiro bit his bottom lip as he exchanged a pained looked with the Blades before wrapping his arm around both of the boys. “Yeah, guys, it’s looking that way.”

Fear briefly washed over Lance and Keith’s eyes, but then they frowned before nodding to each other.

“Then we got to find them!” Keith insisted.

“Yeah! And punch Sendak in the face!” Lance agreed.

“We will,” Kolivan said firmly, “but we need to act fast!”

Allura appeared with Coran beside her. “We’ve checked inside the tent, but they’re not anywhere.”

“This is my fault,” Coran said as he removed his mask. “I..I should have set up better security, or-”

“It’s not your fault,” Shiro said gently, “and we don’t have time to blame ourselves.”

Coran opened, but promptly shut his mouth and nodded. “Right..then perhaps we best split up? I can call Varkon and-”

A sharp meow cut him off. All the humans jumped as Black, Red and Blue stood behind them with the mice riding on Blue’s back.

Allura’s jaw drop. “Platt? Chuchule? Chulatt? Plachu?” She placed her hands firmly on her hips. “What are you four doing here?”

“Hanging out with the cats,” Keith said with a shrugged. “Looks rather obvious.

Shiro blinked and rubbed his eyes. “I thought I told you to stay in the house.”

Black growled and Shiro interrupted it as “Did you seriously expect me to obey?”

_No, no I really shouldn’t have,_ Shiro thought to himself. _Granted, given the situation, maybe it’s just as well._

Lance tilted his head in confusion. “Where are Green and Yellow?” He gasped as he looked to Blue. “Are they with Pidge and Hunk?”

However, Blue never got a chance to reply as the mice squeaks cutt in. They jumped to the ground, ran around his feet and then urgently pointed their noses forward.

Shiro blinked dumbly and looked to Allura. “I..believe they want us to follow them?”

“I suppose,” Allura said in shock, “but what would they know about-”

“Ask questions later,” Kolivan said as he pointed in the direction the mice were pointing. “If the cats and these spirits know something, we must follow.”

“Spirits?” Coran said as he frowned. “What spirits? There are only the mice here?”

“Later,” Shiro insisted as he tugged on Coran’s arm. “Come on, we got to go.” He looked to Thace. “Can you stay with Lance and Keith?”

“Absolutely,” Thace stated and he placed a hand on their shoulders. “They won’t leave my sight.”

“But we want to come too,” Keith insisted as he tossed a fist up in the air.

“Yeah, no one picks on my friends!” Lance added.

“Not this time,” Shiro stated firmly. “You two stay here, we’ll be back as soon as we can.”

The boys looked prepared to argue, but after both Blue and Red growled in their direction they sighed.

“Fine,” they said in unison.

“Thace, contact Regris and give him the update,” Kolivan said as they began to run. “I’ll try to contact you in ten minutes.”

“Understood,” Thace said as he lead the boys into Coran’s tent. “Be careful.”

“We’ll try,” Shiro shouted as he ran. “I just hope we make it in time.”


	13. Chapter 13

Hunk did not do well under pressure. His palms would get sweaty. His heart would start beating a mile a minute and his legs would become as weak as jelly. Yet, this time, Hunk found himself trying to remain as calm as possible despite being forced into a forest by a huge scary guy that looked able to crush his skull.

Hunk did felt terrified, and yet he walk steady as he kept staring at where Sendak was tightly gripping Pidge’s arm. 

_Have to get out of here,_ Hunk thought, _but I can’t risk him hurting Pidge._ He gripped his bag of candy tightly. _What do I do?_

“We’ll stop here,” Sendak ordered as he shoved Hunk towards a log and pointed to it with his flashlight. “Sit there quietly and you won’t get hurt.”

Pidge growled as she glared at him. “And we’re just supposed to believe you?”

Sendak sneered as he seized her wrist and set the flashlight on the ground. “Up to you, but I do promise I’m not an adult that will hold back against children.”

Hunk gulped, but kept his eyes narrowed as he glared. “What do you want with us anyway?” 

Sendak chuckled as he forced Pidge to sit beside him. “Truth be told, it’s not you kids that I want, but your little furry friends.”

Pidge’s eyes squirmed in his grasp, but paused to look at him. “Furry friends?”

“Your little cats,” Sendak sneered. “My employer wants them quite badly, and he always get what he wants.”

Hunk’s hands shook as he did his best to keep his face neutral. “We have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sendak laughed. “Oh, drop the act kid, I know all about those precious cats and that spring.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a notebook. “I’ve been researching you lot, and one thing I’ve concluded is that those cats are connected to you kids somehow.”

“So what?” Pidge said with a snarl. “You’re going to try to lure them out? They’re too smart to fall for that.”

“Maybe, but I doubt they would leave you alone when you’re in danger,” Sendak said as he pocketed the notebook, “and you most certainly are currently.”

Hunk swallowed as he hugged his bag to his chest. _Got to think. Got to think._

“It won’t be that easy to catch them,” Pidge continued, “they’ll-”

“Oh, I heard all about the little ‘encounter’ those hunters had, but I’m prepared” Sendak said as he brought out a knife. “I doubt those cats will risk anything as long as I have you two with me.”

“So, wait,” Hunk said slowly, trying to process all of this, “what will happen once you have the cats?”

“You kids will go on a little trip with me,” Sendak commented, “as insurance.”

Uh oh. He did not like the meaning of those words. “So, you’re going to kidnap us?”

“My employer will let you go once he has what he wants,” Sendak replied coolly.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Hunk replied.

Sendak gave him a hard cold stare. “You’re a smart kid, I didn’t believe I had to.”

Hunk glared and crinkled his candy bag that was still full of his treats from earlier. _We got to escape and warn the others, but how-_ He then glanced inside the bag and suddenly his eyes locked onto the contents.

_Wait...that wouldn’t...well it might work,_ he thought silently.

His thoughts were interrupted as Pidge stomped her foot. “But why Hunk and me?” She attempted to yank her arm away, but Sendak held it. “Did you just grab us at random?”

“Hardly,” Sendak said as he held up the knife to her face, “but, frankly, I could tell you two would be the easiest targets and I proved to be right.”

“Oh, yeah?!” Pidge snapped as she kicked his leg. “Still think we’re easy-”

Hunk yelped as Sendak held the knife inches away from her throat. 

“As I stated before,” Sendak said in a darker tone, “I have no problem ‘dealing’ with children.” He brought his face in closer. “So, behave and no harm will come to either of you.” He looked to Hunk. “Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hunk said hastily as he waved his hands “We get it!”

Sendak seemed satisfied with the response and pulled back the knife. “Good, now we quiet as we wait for your friends to arrive.”

“They’re not going to come,” Pidge retorted as she rubbed her neck. “They don’t even know that we’re here.”

Sendak grinned. “Oh, they well, and if they don’t,” he pocketed his knife, “I have other means to lure them out.”

Hunk took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he gave a shaky smile. “Uh...great,” he said as he held up a bag, “mind if I have a snack?”

Sendak arched an eyebrow as Pidge’s jaw dropped. “Hunk, how can you think of food at at time like this?”

Hunk gave a nonchalant shrug, and prayed Sendak couldn’t hear his knees shake. “What? Nervousness, makes me hungry.” He looked to Sendak. “So, can I eat one of the candies I got?”

Sendak narrowed his eyes. “Alright,” he said as he stepped forward and picked up the flashlight, “but show me first and don’t try any tricks.”

Hunk forced laugh. “What? Me, no way,” he said as he reached inside and brought out two of his jalapeno peppers. “See, nothing at all.”

Sendak’s scowl vanished as he shone his flashlight on it and stared at the vegetable in confusion. “Why...do you have a jalapeno peppers?”

“I told you, it’s one of my treats,” Hunk said as he stood and held it out for Sendak to see.

“What kind of person gives out vegetables on Halloween?” Sendak said as he kneeled.

Hunk breathed deeply through his nose as he tossed a glance to Pidge who starred on in interest.

_Get ready to run,_ he mentally told her as he held out his hand to Sendak’s face. “But these are super good. Nice and fresh. See for yourself!”

Hunk smash the peppers into Sendak’s eyes. As expected, the man cried out in shock as the juices stung his eyes. The flashlight tumbled from his hands and he scrambled to wipe his face off.

“You little,” he hissed as stumbled, but Hunk ignored the curse words as he snagged the flashlight and grabbed Pidge.

“Run!” he told her and she didn’t argue as they ran and weaved around the trees

Pidge panted as she kept holding his hand. “Hunk, that was awesome! I didn’t think you had it in you-”

“Praise me later,” Hunk said as he avoid slamming into a giant oak and froze. “Um..which why should we run?” He pointed the flashlight in different directions, but it all looked the same.

Sendak hadn’t given them a chance to be able to track where they were going when he lead them here. Add in the darkness of the nights, and everything looked the same. Hunk had no idea where they were or what path would lead them back to town.

Pidge’s eyes widened as she looked around. “I don’t know, it’s gotten so dark. I don’t recognize anything.”

Hunk groaned and quickly yelped as they heard Sendak run towards them.

“Oh man, oh man, should we hide? Climb a tree? Wait, he can climb trees?! Maybe we go left? Or right? Or-”

A sharp growl suddenly echoed in his head. A voice called out _We’re coming! We’re coming!_

Hunk jumped as an image of Yellow appeared in his head.

_Run forward! Run forward!_

He gripped Pidge’s shoulder for support, but then Hunk saw she held the same exact look of bewilderment on her face.

“Did you...just…see-”

“Our cats in my head? Yeah.” Pidge shook her head as she dragged Hunk forward. “Let’s go this way. I can’t explain it but-”

“They’re coming for us,” Hunk replied as he picked up the pace as he still felt like he was in a daze. “Yeah, that’s what it felt like.”

Was this had been what happened with Lance? Back when he felt Blue was in trouble? This was so weird.

However, as he heard Sendak catch up to them, Hunk didn’t complain as he ran. He could feel his heart pounding and the muscles in his legs were burning.

“We can’t out run him,” Hunk stammered. “He’s going to catch up.”

Pidge halted and it took all of Hunk’s strength to not slam into her, only for her to yank him behind a large tree. She shoved him to the ground, took the flashlight and shut it off before she placed a finger over her lips.

“Stay quiet,” she said as they heard feet approach.

Hunk nodded as he knelt beside her and hugged her tightly. He could feel Pidge’s body shake as she hugged him and they heard Sendak’s fast pace slow down.

“I know you’re here,” he said aloud and Hunk spotted specks of light from around the trunk. “You can’t escape me.”

_Terrific! He must have had a spare flashlight on him,_ he thought grimly. Hunk heard the footsteps move towards him. 

“If you give yourselves up now, I promise not to hurt you this time.”

Hunk held his breath as Pidge’s fingers dug into his shoulder.

“And you much rather deal with me,” Sendak continued as his voice grew louder. “My employer will not be so kind.”

Hunk debated if they should run for it then and there, but it was too late. A gloved hand gripped the tree trunk. Fearfully, Hunk lifted up his gaze and found Sendak hovering over him.

Hunk attempted to move, but Sendak caught the back of his shirt.

“You’re mine now,” he sneered at him. “There’s nothing that can save you now-”

A roar came and suddenly Sendak released Hunk as he was yanked backwards.

“What?! NO! Let go!” Sendak cried as more growls came.

Hunk exchanged a shocked look with Pidge before scrambling to their feet. The kids dashed around the tree trunk as Hunk switched the flashlight back on to see. A golden lioness was wrestling with Sendak on the ground as they wrestled around in the dirt.

“What the…” Hunk muttered, but then a green lioness jumped down in front of them.

Hunk yelped as he clung to Pidge, but the lioness didn’t move. It blinked at them before she began purring and rubbed her head against Pidge’s chest.

“Uh...okay, what is going on here?” Hunk said as he took a step back.

Pidge tilted her head, and then laughed as she wrapped her arms around the lioness’s neck. “It’s our cats...err, our lions!”

Hunk’s jaw dropped, but then his brain clicked as it recalled how Blue had turned into a huge lioness last summer. So, if this was Green, than the one fighting Sendak had to be Yellow!

A grunt was heard. Hunk whipped his head back to the fight. Sendak had managed to flip Yellow off of him, but she landed back on her feet almost as if she had intended it. Hunk stared in awe.

Yellow was way bigger than Green. With the size of her muscles, Hunk could see her deciding to take on a fight with a moose and win it. Yellow exchanged a look to Hunk and felt a calming purr in his mind.

“Whoa,” he muttered. “This is weird.”

“I’m not complaining,” Pidge said as Green stood protectively in front of them.

Sendak let out cry as Yellow attempt to pouce, but he flipped her away from him again. By the time Yellow had regained her balance, Sendak was back on his feet.

“I’ve always wanted to fight a lion,” he sneered as he brought out a knife. “This will be a fun challenge.”

Yellow growled and charged straight at him. Hunk held his breath as Sendak swung his knife. Yellow swiped a paw, but he dodge and tried to stab back. However, Yellow whacked him with her paw and tossed him to the side.

Sendak didn’t waste a second getting up. Yellow growled and ran at him again. Hunk had expected Sendak to move, but instead he reached into his pocket and dropped a small ball to the ground.

_Uh oh,_ Hunk thought. “Watch out!”

It was too late, Yellow stepped onto the ball and was an electric charge went off.

“No!” Hunk and Pidge cried.

Yellow gave a roar as the shock when through her and she collapsed onto the ground. Green roared and prepared to attack, but Sendak grabbed Yellow’s head and held the knife to her throat.

“You stay right where you are unless you want her hurt,” he ordered.

Green growled, but took a reluctant step back.

“Don’t you need the cats alive?” Pidge snapped.

“I do,” Sendak said with a smirk as he tugged at Yellow’s ears, “but a few cuts wouldn’t kill this beast.”

Hunk’s hands formed into fist. “You said it would be a fun challenge, but you played dirty! That was cheating!”

“My rules, my terms,” Sendak said as he pointed to them. “Now, get your green friend over here.” He reached into a pocket and brought a small case. “I got a nice tranquilizer here with her name on it.”

Hunk swallowed as he glanced to Pidge. What could they do? They couldn’t just hand Green over, but Yellow would get hurt? They could run, but that would mean abandoning Yellow.

“I don’t have all day,” Sendak commanded.

Pidge’s hands tightened as she dug her fingers into Green’s fur. She pressed her forehead against Green and both of them gave a nod.

“Alright,” Pidge said quietly. 

“Pidge, no,” Hunk whispered, but Pidge patted his arm.

“It..it’ll be okay,” Pidge said, but he could tell by her forced smile she wasn’t as certain.

Pidge kept her hand on Green’s back as they approached Sendak. Hunk tried to focus on the scene, but heard the snapping of twigs behind him. He glanced around nervously.

_Oh great, is something else going to attack us?_ He thought.

“That’s it, kid,” Sendak said with a chuckle as he reached for Green. “Just keep your lion nice and calm-”

Suddenly, Shiro barged out into the clearing and tackled Sendak to the ground. The case dropped from Sendak’s hands as Shiro pinned him to his back.

“Pidge, get the case!” Shiro ordered.

Pidge’s blinked astounded, but then shook off the shock. “Uh, right,” she cried as she grabbed the case. Once she had it, Green picked her up by the back of her shirt and carried her back to where Hunk stood.

Hunk watched as Shiro struggled to hold back Sendak’s knife from slicing his face. “We got to help Shiro!” Hunk tried to step forward to help, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“No, stay put,” Kolivan said as he gently pushed Hunk behind him. “We’ll take care of this.”

Hunk’s jaw dropped as tears filled up his eyes in relief. “How did you guys-”

“We’ll answer later, but you need to stay here,” Allura said as she placed a hand on Hunk’s shoulder and Coran checked Pidge over. 

Hunk wanted to argue, but series of firm meows cut him off as Black, Blue and Red appeared at his feet growling with the mice squeaking on top of Black’s head.

“Alright,” he told them as he held up his hands, “I’ll stay put.”

Kolivan nodded before he ran and kicked Sendak off of Shiro. 

“Thanks,” Shiro as Kolivan helped him to his feet.

“It’s not over yet,” Kolivan stated as Sendak snarled and charged at them again. 

Kolivan brought out a dagger and blocked Sendak’s knife.

“So, you lot are fighters,” Sendak sneered as he tried to push Kolivan back. “With all the sneaking around you were doing I was doubting you actually had a back bone.”

“I have more than that,” Kolivan retorted as he shoved back.

Sendak lifted a fist to punch, but was stopped as Shiro punched his hand into his jaw. Sendak lurched back as he fingered a cut there.

“Alright,” he said slowly as he glared at them. “Now, it’s personal.”

Hunk swallowed, but heard a growl in his head. He glanced over and saw Yellow was slowly coming to life.

He wanted to cry out, but covered his mouth. No, be bad news if Sendak knew she was awake. What, in fact, this could be used to their advantage.

He felt a tug on his shirt and glanced to Pidge. Her eyes gestured to Yellow indicating she shared the same thought.

“Headbutt?” Hunk whispered.

“Headbutt,” Pidge whispered back.

“What are you two talking about?” Coran asked confused.

There was no time to explain. Hunk shut his eyes and pictured the action in his head.

_Please understand, please understand,_ he thought silently.

He watched Yellow blink, still slightly dazed, but as her eyes landed upon the fight she slowly understood.

“Get ‘em, girl,” he muttered.

Yellow roared causing Sendak to stop his attempting at stabbing Shiro. He only had enough time to turn his head as Yellow rammed right into him and collided against a tree.

Sendak rubbed his head as he try to stand. “It takes more than that to-”

Suddenly the roots sprouted from the ground. They wiggled like snakes as they began to wrap around and bind Sendak’s legs.

Sendak cursed as he attempted cut them away, but more roots grew in and wrapped around his arms. “What the hell is this?!”

Hunk ‘s jaw dropped in shock until Green’s growl caused him to turn his head. Green had dug her claws into the ground and they were glowing bright like emeralds. 

Hunk’s mouth remained opened as he shook Pidge’s shoulder. “Did you know she could do that?!” 

“No,” Pidge said with her voice full of delight, “but this is mega cool!”

Sendak didn’t share the sentiment as the roots finished wrapping him to the point he looked like a mummy with nothing, but his head uncovered.

He growled as he tried to wiggle free, but it proved useless. “If you think this is over-”

“It is over,” Kolivan declared as he brought out his cellphone. “I’m calling the others,” he said as he looked to Shiro. “At this point, we have more than enough legal reason to arrest him.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Allura said with a huff and then looked down to Pidge. “Are you and Hunk hurt?”

“No,” Pidge said as she hugged Green. “Bit shaken, but we’re okay.”

Hunk placed a hand over his chest. “Yeah and I’m just grateful you guys showed up when you did.” It had been so close. Hunk wasn’t sure what they would have done if the adults hadn’t shown up when they did.

He then paused and glanced over to Shiro. “How did you find us?”

“We had some help,” Shiro said as he walked towards them and pointed to the cats, and mice. “They seem to know where to find you.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Hunk said as he glance to the cats and the mice. “Wait, what are Allura’s mice doing-” 

Hunk forgot what to say as he felt a cold nose press into his back. He turned around to see Yellow still in her lion from and gave a soft whine.

“I’m okay, girl,” Hunk said as he raised a hand to pat her. 

He hesitated. Was it still okay to treat Yellow like a cat when she was like this? Yet, his fears were dashed as Yellow lowered her head to him and began purring as he scratched her ears.

“Lance is right,” he said with a smile, “this is really cool.”

“He’s going to be really mad his missed all of this,” Pidge commented.

“I’m sure Lance is mature enough it get over it,” Coran said with a nod.


	14. Chapter 14

Lance’s eyes were twitching as he grasped his fingers around his cup of cider. “So, not only did I miss an epic fight between the cats, Shiro and Kolivan against that Sendak guy, but I also missed seeing tree magic?!”

“Lance, let it go,” Keith muttered as Red purred in his lap. “We had to stay with Thace.”

“But it sounds so cool!” Lance said with a pout as Blue patted his leg with her paw. “I knew we should have tagged along.”

Keith shook his head. Thace and some other blade members had taken them to the library where Slav and his staff had been serving hot cider. It was the closet building and also the most quiet.

Keith imagined it was due to Slav currently ordering people to not drip their drinks and snacks on the floor or it would disrupt the flow of the library or something along those lines. Thace had suggested he and Lance could take part in the story hour that was going on, but Keith was too anxious and he knew Lance felt the same.

They had been waiting there for nearly an hour when Shiro finally called them and told him it was all okay. However, they didn’t hear the exact details until they arrived and borrowed Slav’s office for a private meeting.

Coran was absent. He had decided to go with Kolivan and ensure Sendak was safely behind bars. However, Hunk and Pidge were quick to fill in the details and eventually let Shiro take over the story.

Lance had started pouting when they had reached the part of Yellow and Green turning into lions. Although, Keith had to admit, he would have liked to see the fight too.

“Well, if it helps,” Pidge said as she patted Green in her lap. “They didn’t stay lions very long.”

“Which does raise questions if they have a time limit,” Allura pondered as she offered Platt a cracker. “Or perhaps they shall be able to do it at well now.”

Keith frowned as he glanced downward to Red. He couldn’t help but wonder if Red would be able to do it too.

Suddenly, the door opened and Ulaz poked his head in.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked as he shut the door behind him. “Slav told me you were all in here and I came to give you all an update.”

“Of course,” Thace said with a nod. “How is Antok?”

“He has regained consciousness and will be fine,” Ulaz said with a sigh. “Although, he will have to take a leave of absence from work until he fully recovers. He wasn’t very thrilled with that bit of knowledge.”

“At least he can recover,” Allura commented. “What about Sendak?”

“Currently in a pair of handcuffs and placed in a cell with at least three guards,” Ulaz stated. “Kolivan is planning to press him for information, but it’s unlikely he’ll reveal anything vital.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said slowly as he hugged Yellow. “He doesn’t seem to be the type to not blab secrets easily.”

“No,” Shiro nodded in agreement as he gave a deep sigh. “I’m just grateful everyone is safe.” 

Allura gave a laugh as she looked over the office. “I will admit, I’m amazed Slav is alright letting us borrow his office for this long,” Allura commented. “From the years I’ve known him he hates anyone being in his office for more than five minutes.”

“He will be a bit disgruntled,” Ulaz commented, “but he does try to assist the Blade of Marmora when he can.”

Shiro, and Allura both froze. Puckering his lips as if he just swallowed a lemon, Shiro cleared his throat. “Slav...knows about the blades?”

“Yes, he is a part time member,” Thace replied and then paused. “Wait...did no one tell you?”

“No,” Shiro said slowly as he rubbed his forehead. “No, they did not.”

“So Slav is suppose to be a secret ninja too?” Lance asked as he tilted his head and frowned. “And here I thought he was just a cranky librarian.”

“He tends to focus more on information gathering for us,” Ulaz explained and glanced to the children. “And not to change the topic, but perhaps we should escort you and the children home?”

“That might be best,” Allura said as she looked over the children. “Unless, some of you are dying to do more trick or treating?”

Keith shook his head. “Nope, I’m done.”

“Same,” Lance said as he leaned back. “I just want to sit back and watch movies.”

“Ditto,” Pidge and Hunk voiced.

Shiro grinned. “Well, how about you come back to mine and Keith’s house? We’ll call your parents to check with them and watch some movies.”

“Oh, can we just sleepover too?” Lance said as he raised a hand. “That way we can watch movies without getting interrupted!”

Shiro grinned and looked to Keith. “That okay with you, buddy?”

Keith blushed. He hadn’t been expecting that, but found himself nodding. “Yeah...sure.”

“Ulaz and I will take you home then,” Thace voiced and glanced to the cats and mice. “If that pleases the cats and little spirits of course.”

The cats gave a meow and the mice squeaked.

Allura frowned as she stepped forward. “What do you mean by spirits? The only other creatures here are the mice.” She crossed her arms. “Kolivan referred to them as ‘spirits’ as well.”

Thace paused and rubbed his neck as Ulaz cleared his throat. “Ah, our apologies.”

“We Blades often forget not everyone is able to identify them right away,” Ulaz stated.

“I don’t understand,” Allura continued.

“Those mice are not actually mice,” Thace said as he pointed to the mice who were now puffing up their chests proudly. “They’re actually forests spirits.”

Pidge choked. “What? You mean look those little dust bunnies?” She placed two fingers behind Lance’s hand to demonstrate.

“Correct,” Thace stated.

“But they don’t look anything like them,” Keith added as Lance swatted Pidge’s hand away.

“It’s rare, but some forest spirits became powerful enough so they are able to evolve into another form. Often it’s a more recognizable animal that seems harmless to humans.”

Allura opened and shut her mouth as she pointed dumbstruck. “So..you mean my adorable pet mice are forest spirits?”

The Blades nodded. 

“But..they were injured when I found them like any other animal I’ve treated,” Allura stammered. “I found no signs that would indicate anything different.”

“Part of the price of the transformation is they gain a form that can be injured,” Ulaz said, “and you did find them on your doorstep or am I wrong in that case?”

“Well yes…” Her eyes widened as she turned to the mice. “You..came to me because you know I would attend to you?”

The mice nodded.

“And…” she said as she knelt to their level, “you didn’t go back to the forest because you wanted to stay with me?”

The mice nodded.

Allura frowned, and then chuckled softly. “Well...this does explain how you lot keep escaping your cage.”

“I think at this point you might as well give up the cage,” Pidge said with a grin as she scratched Platt’s head. 

“So now we have magic cats and magic mice,” Hunk said as he slumped in the chair. “I did not think things could get weirder, but here we are.”

Shiro laughed, but was cut off as his cellphone rang. “Hold that thought, Hunk,” Shiro said as he answered it and held it to his ears. “Yes?” His smile vanished and the wrinkles in his forehead deepened. “I see...I’ll be right over.”

Shiro hung up and stared at his phone silently.

Keith tugged at his arm. “Everything okay?”

Shiro blinked and gave a smile as he ruffled Keith’s hair. “Yeah, buddy, Kolivan just needs to talk with me a bit.” He looked to Allura. “Do you mind going to my place and getting the party started without me? I won’t be long.”

“I can do that,” Allura said with a nod as she lifted the mice to her shoulders. “And if you could bring Coran home with you that would be lovely.”

“Will do,” Shiro said as he looked to Keith and gave him a quick hug. “I won’t be long. Keep an eye on them until I get back okay.”

“Alright,” Keith said, but he still felt like Shiro was hiding something. “Is Black going with you?”

Shiro laughed. “Naw, I don’t-”

Black growled as she promptly wrapped her tail around his left ankle. He sighed. “Right, forget, there’s no arguing with you.”

He scooped her up and gave a small wave as he left. “I’ll see you all in a bit.”

Keith nodded as he gave a small wave and tried to ignore the sense of worry he felt inside.

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Shiro’s eyes hardened as he locked onto the door that lead into where the holding cells were located. He nearly forgot he wasn’t alone until Black purred in his ear and nuzzled his cheek.

Shiro gave a wistful smile as he scratched at her ears. “It’s time like these I don’t mind you riding my shoulders.”

Black purred again as Kolivan entered along with Coran who had changed out of his costume and back into normal clothes.

“Are you certain you don’t want us accompanying you?” Kolivan said as he too stared at the door.

Shiro shook his head. “Sendak said he wanted to speak to me, right? Then I doubt he wants an audience. Besides, he might let some information slip if it’s only me.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Coran said as he crossed his arms. “The only time the man spoke was when he requested to see you.”

“Agreed, but with that said,” Kolivan patted Shiro’s shoulder, “we’ll be outside just in case.”

“He shouldn’t be able to do much from being handcuffed in his cell,” Coran said.

“We made the mistake of underestimating him before,” Kolivan said firmly, “I refuse to make the same mistake twice.”

Shiro couldn’t argue against that and gave them a quick nod before he entered. Regris was standing guard in the room standing in front of the holding cell. Sendak was currently sitting on a bench with his hands handcuffed and folded in his lap.

Regris looked to the Shiro and cast a glare in Sendak’s direction before he exited the room. Silence followed as the door shut, until Black jumped down from Shiro’s shoulders and hissed as she sat at Shiro’s feet.

Sendak chuckled. “You brought your feline friend. How quaint.”

“Let’s not bother with the chit chat shall we?” Shiro said firmly as he reached for a chair and sat down. “Want do you want?”

Sendak leaned back in his own chair. “Actually, I am giving you what you want. Information on who hired me.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What’s the catch?”

He had been so tight lipped according to Kolivan. What caused the sudden change?

“Truthfully, knowing who it is won’t help you anyway. You can’t stop him, my employer always gets what he wants.” He gave a shark like grin. “Consider it as a gift from one former soldier to another.”

Shiro swallowed as Black gave a growl. “Fine, who hired you then?”

Sendak chuckled. “Ever heard of Zarkon? Rather wealthy man.”

Shiro’s body stiffened and tried to keep a neutral face. “I have yes.”

Sendak frowned and then huffed. “You already had suspected him, didn’t you?” He gave a laugh. “Looks like those Blades aren’t totally useless after all-”

“What does he want?” Shiro asked, cutting him off. “Just get to the point.”

Sendak huffed as he straightened his posture. “I’ve worked for him for a few number of years now. Odd jobs, stealing a few items here and there, it varies, but I know that there are two things he craves.” He held up his hand and revealed two fingers. “Power and immortality.” He gave a shrug. “While money is useful for obtaining the first item it can’t much for the second.”

Shiro glanced to Black as his hands tightened into fists. “So, he’s after the cats to gain immortality?”

“To be more specific he’s after that Spring of Voltron,” Sendak chided and shrug. “Not that I have any interest in it.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”

“No,” Sendak said as he shook his head. “I will admit, I did research to obtain more details about it, but I have no desire for an immortal life.”

“Who else knows about the spring?” Shiro asked.

“Few,” Sendak said, “Zarkon wants to keep it a secret as much as possible to ensure no one can beat him to it.”

“And he told you about it?” 

“As I stated, I have no desire for an immortal life and my loyalty to him comes first.” He raised his hands. “The only other person that knows what Zarkon is after is Haggar and you don’t want to cross paths with her.”

Shiro straightened his posture. “Why’s that?”

“She’s a literal witch,” Sendak continued, “I’ve seen her do things I only thought was possible in horror stories. She has studied magic for years and her loyalty to Zarkon is unquestionable.”

“I see,” Shiro said slowly.

This was both good and bad. On the one hand they knew exactly who they were dealing with, but on the other it sounded like these were the last people he wanted to encounter.

“If I were you, I would just give up the cats to Zarkon,” Sendak continued. “Would save you the trouble.”

Shiro glared as he reached down and placed a hand on Black’s head. “Not a chance.”

“He does reward those who bring him what he wants,” Sendak smirked, “can offer you a lot of money. Maybe even a job that would allow you and your little cousin to not have a worry about a thing.”

Shiro paused only for a second, but then briskly shook his head. “Sorry, but if what you said about Zarkon is correct, I want nothing to do with his blood money.”

Black gave another hiss and looked tempted to scratch Sendak’s nose off.

“You say that now, but I imagine he’ll get you to change your mind,” Sendak warned. “One way or another.”

Shiro glared and kept doing so as he picked up Black and Sendak chuckled as he left.

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Kolivan sat at his desk as drummed his fingers. “So, Zarkon?” He shook his head. “We had suspicions, but a part of me was hoping it was wrong.”

“Is he that big of a threat?” Coran asked.

“Very,” Shiro added from his char with Black in his lap. “I doubt Sendak would be that loyal to just anyone.”

“I see,” Coran said as he stroked his mustache. “So, what do we do now?”

“Keep our guard up, at least for now,” Kolivan said as he reached into his drawer. “Since we have Sendak, we can at least assume Zarkon won’t doing anything for a little while since he knows we would be watching for him.”

“Yes,” Shiro said as he looked to Kolivan, “but we are going to have to tell the kids.” Black meowed as Shiro scratched her chin. “I don’t like it, but they need to know.”

Koliva squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. “Yes. It’s too dangerous for them not to-”

“And also their parents,” Shiro added.

Kolivan went quiet as he brought out a notebook. “I’m not certain-”

“I understand the spring needs to be kept secret,” Shiro said, “but we were lucky tonight that Sendak didn’t run off with Pidge and Hunk.”

“I agree,” Coran added as his phone buzzed and he reached inside his pocket. “The more people we are able to inform, the better chance have of keeping the children safe.” He leaned forward in his chair. “And, along with the cats, shouldn’t that be our top priority?”

Kolivan frowned as he tapped his fingers on his notebook and sighed. “We will be breaking centuries of tradition...but there has also never been a case like this before.” He gave a nod and looked to Shiro. “When should we tell them?”

“Let’s wait a couple of days,” Shiro suggested, “so we have a chance to tell the kids and decide how to explain it to them.”

“Very well,” Kolivan said as he opened his notebook. “In the meantime, I have a few contacts I can call to see if we can gain more information about-”

“NNOO!” Coran wailed as he slumped in his chair and his hand shook with his phone. “That scoundrel!”

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked as Black got off his lap so he could stand up.

Fury shone in Coran’s eyes as he held up his phone. “Varkon won the haunted house contest!”

Shiro and Kolivan both blinked in silence.

“And?” Kolivan asked.

“The rat is bragging about it on twitter!” Coran held up the phone that revealed Zarkon grinning and holding up a trophy. “Honestly! I knew I should have gone for that glow in the dark scarecrow.”

Shiro shook his head as he scooped up Black. “Perhaps, it’s time I take Coran home.”

“Yes, I will escort you out,” Kolivan said as he rose and paused as he approached Coran. “Also, no, a glow in a dark scarecrow would not have helped you.”

Coran nodded. “Yes.. perhaps not,” he snapped his fingers. “Oh! I know, next year I’ll go for a haunted bakery theme!”

Shiro gently began to push Coran out the door. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Or perhaps a haunted cafeteria! No, wait! A haunted circus!”

Shiro could only shake his head as Coran continued to make a list of other haunted establishments.

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Lance hugged Blue against his chest as he raised his head off the sleeping bag. “Can we watch a Halloween movie now?” 

“We are,” Hunk insisted as he ate a handful of popcorn and offered a piece to Yellow.

“It’s Scooby-doo,” Lance argued. “We should be watching something super scary.”

“Hey, the amount of food Shaggy eats in one gulp, that is scary,” Pidge argued from the other end of the couch, “and after tonight, I had enough frights thank you.”

Lance frowned, but then looked to Blue and sighed. “Alright, fair enough.”

Keith fingered with the pillow he was laying on the floor with. He was trying to focus on the movie, but found his mind would drift whenever he would. Red gave a growl as she wiggled her body under Keith’s arm and he didn’t mind the extra warmth.

Pursing his lips, he glance to Pidge and Hunk. He probably shouldn’t bug them about it, but he found himself asking anyway. “Are you two okay?”

Pidge and Hunk glanced over with Green peeking over the armrest.

“We’re fine,” Hunk said as he held up his arms. “We’re not hurt or anything-”

“No, not physically,” Keith said as he rubbed his neck. Why was he bringing this up? “I mean, are you OKAY? Like are you two freaked out for life or anything?”

The others went quiet. Pidge and Hunk silently looked to each other searching for an answer. Lance narrowed his eyes and then reached for the remote to hit the mute button.

“Hey, the movie isn’t done yet,” Hunk protested.

“No, but figured we shouldn’t have the distraction on for this,” Lance voiced as he sat up. “Frankly, I’ve been wondering that too.” He coughed. “I mean, as cool as seeing Blue go mega lion was, being kidnapped by Rolo and Nyma was..a bit scary.”

Hunk hugged his knees to his chest and wrapped his arm around Yellow. “Um..well, it was scary. I mean, I kept worrying Sendak was going to hurt Pidge.”

Pidge choked. “You were worried about me?” She leaned forward and almost dangled over the seat. “I was worried about you.”

Hunk blinked. “You looked like you wanted to murder him.”

“Yeah, because I was afraid he was going to hurt you.”

“Alright, so you were both scared for each other,” Keith voiced as he sat up. “But are you scared now?”

Hunk crossed his arms and shut his eyes. “I’ll be honest, I’ll probably have a nightmare or two come out of this but..strangely not right now.” He patted Yellow’s head. “Don’t know why.”

“Yeah, same,” Pidge voiced as she raised her head. “Even I would be normally more freaked out, but I’m oddly calm?”

“It’s because you know you have awesome magic cats,” Lance said as he held up Blue. “That’s what it was like for me at least.”

Keith frowned as he looked to him. “Did you ever have any nightmares?”

Lance scratched his cheek. “Yeah, a few, but that’s normal and Blue was always next to me when I woke up. So, they never lasted long.”

Keith thought of the nightmares he had in the past and Red always seem to know how to soothe him afterwards. “That makes sense.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said in agreement as Yellow curled around him. “It was scary, but you know,” he hugged Yellow, “it was worth it if it meant I got to keep Yellow safe.”

Lance gave a smile Blue purred. “That’s how I felt too.”

Keith found himself nodding, but paused as a thought struck him. He was the only kid among them who hadn’t had his cat tried to be taken away from him. He frowned as he patted Red’s head.

_Does that mean I could be next?_ Keith thought.

Red growled and tilted her head at him. Keith gave a small smile in return. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” he whispered to her.

“So, after that heart to heart,” Pidge said as she reached for the remote, “can we put the sound back on?”

“Fine by me,” Lance said as he extended his hand, “but Hunk can you hand over the popcorn?”

Hunk compiled and reached for the bowl, but then halted as he peered inside. “Um..sorry, it’s all gone.”

“What?” Keith said as he moved over. “We just made that. How could you eat all of it in five minutes?”

“It wasn’t me,” Hunk said as he held out the bowl to reveal four very happy mice who were patting their stomachs.

“When did the mice get here?” Lance asked as Platt only gave a burp as a reply.

Keith raised and eyebrow and shrug. “Magic?”

Red poked at the bowl to make it spin and the mice with it. 

Pidge shook her head as she stopped the bowl and the mice shook the dizziness off. “At least now I know who kept stealing my peanut butter cookies from my desk,” she remarked.

Lance blushed as he raised his hand. “Um...no that was actually me.” 

Pidge choked. “What?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t lock your drawer- ack!”

Pidge tackled Lance on the couch as both Green and Blue jumped off. “You’re going to regret it cookie thief!” She then proceeded to tickle under his armpits.

“Ha ha! Hey, cut it out!” Lance laughed and reached helplessly to Hunk and Keith. “Save me!”

Keith looked to Hunk and they both smirked. “Naw,” Keith said, “you’re on your own here.”

“Yeah, no way would I pick a fight against Pidge,” Hunk said.

The cats looked to each other and growled in agreement.

“Traitors,” Lance said laughed more as Pidge continued to tickle and it didn’t take long for the others to join in the laughter.

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A few days later, miles away from the town, Haggar quietly knocked at the door of Zarkon’s office.

“Enter,” Zarkon’s voice bellowed.

She entered and without utterly a word she approached the desk as Zarkon turned around in his chair.

“You have news for me?” he asked as he arched an eyebrow.

“”Yes,” Haggar said and held up a bottle of her latest potion, “and your ‘medicine’.”

Zarkon narrowed his eyes and then pressed the button that locked the doors as Haggar knew he would. They couldn’t risk anyone walking in on their conversation.

Zarkon reached into his desk and brought out a glass. “Have you heard from Sendak?”

“No,” Haggar said as she pour the contents of the bottle into the glass, “but I have done several card readings and have reasons to suspect he has been arrested.”

“So he failed,” Zarkon said as he took the glass, “that is rather surprising.” He then quickly drained the glass and slammed it on the table.

His eyes glowing, Zarkon gripped the table as the potion coursed through his body. It amazed Haggar everytime. According to her books drinking the life elixir was equivalent to drinking fire, and yet somehow Zarkon managed to drink it every three days without complaint.

Eventually, Zarkon’s grip loosened as his eyes returned to normal and took in a deep breath. 

“I feel ten years younger,” he remarked.

“You should be feeling twenty,” Haggar remarked dryly, “which only further proves the potion is losing its effect on you.”

Zarkon had began drinking it years ago. Back then he only had to drink it once a month, but eventually Zarkon began to feel weak if he didn’t drink it once a week. Now it was every three days.

If they didn’t find a solution soon, drinking it wouldn’t help Zarkon at all. Their only hope was the Spring of Voltron and they needed those blasted cats to find it. 

He grimly nodded as he folded his hands. “What do you suggest? Send in another hunter?”

“No,” Haggar said as she crossed her arms, “I suggest we take a more direct approach.”

Zarkon narrowed his eyes. “You are mean you take on the task yourself?”

“Yes,” Haggar said with a nod. “I will need time to plan and come up with a different strangely.” She waved her hands. “Since it is clear sending someone to retrieve those beasts had been less than fruitful.”

Zarkon frowned, but nodded. “Let me know what you require and I will bring them to you.”

“Thank you,” Haggar said as she picked up the bottle. “I will first go and prepare a fresh batch.” She paused as a thought struck her. “Should I send someone to ‘deal’ with Sendak?”

Zarkon shook his head. “I know where his loyalties lie. He would not reveal information unless he believed it would benefit me.”

Haggar felt doubtful, but she would not argue. “Very well then,” she said as she turned to leave and paused at the door. “I shall speak to you later, husband.”

Zarkon only nodded as he pressed the button to release the door. Haggar left and found herself, once again, fingering the wedding ring she still wore on her finger. She would obtain those cats. To keep her husband alive, she would find that spring, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! That was a long one. Just one more chapter to wrap up the whole story.


	15. Chapter 15

Red paced nervously back and forth in the living. _This is a TERRIBLE idea,_ she growled to her sister.

_You’ve made that clear the last ten times you said it,_ Green muttered as she watched Allura escort Lance’s parents into the living room room. 

Red hissed. _Because no one is listening to me._ She looked to Black. _Nothing good will come from telling the adults about us._

_Shiro believes it’s the right thing to do,_ Black argued as Hunk lead his parents to the couch. _As do Allura and Coran. I believe you do not give the humans enough credit._

Red narrowed her eyes as she glanced over to Keith. _All I know is that it’s making the children nervous, and the risk of them wanting to get rid of us is high._

_It won’t happen,_ Blue said as she walked over and nuzzled Red. _The worse case, we can find a place to hide and make a new plan._

_Besides, I don’t understand why you’re so worried,_ Yellow growled. _You live with Shiro and Keith, and they aren’t going to get rid of you._

Red huffed as she lay on the ground. _Because if they kick you all out you’ll probably move in with me and Black._ She cleaned her paws. _It would be crowded with five cats in there._

_You’re exaggerating,_ Black said, but then paused. _With that said, Shiro’s room is my territory so don’t even thinking of going in there._

_Sister, you’re not helping,_ Blue chided.

Red shook her head and would have argued more if Keith hadn’t scooped her up.

“Come on, girl,” he said as he carried her into the living room. 

Red squirmed slightly, but then resigned to her fate when she saw Keith’s anxious face. She let the boy pull her into his lap and purred as he patted her head.

The other cats were quickly herded into the room by Black and took their positions next to their kid as Black stood beside Shiro.

“Thank you for coming everyone,” Coran greeted as he held up a teapot. “Would anyone care for a cup of tea?”

“Before we get to that,” Lance’s father said as he crossed his arm and eyed his son, “what did Lance do?”

Lance choked as Blue perked her ears up in defense. “What makes you think I did anything?!”

“Because the last time Allura called us over to her place was to ‘delicately’ tell us how you decide to dye your hair purple,” his father replied with and looked him over. “Although, you look normal today.”

“First of all, it was supposed to be red,” Lance grumbled, “and I am innocent.”

“Lance is correct,” Allura said gently, “and it was Shiro’s idea to gather you all at my house since you are more accustomed to it.”

Hunk’s mother arched an eyebrow. “No offense dear, but that only makes us more suspicious.”

“You are right to assume we called you here to tell you something,” Shiro stated as he stood and rubbed his neck. “I know this will be hard to take in but..well-”

“The cats are magic!” Hunk blurted out and then covered his mouth.

Everyone paused to look at him.

“Hunk,” Pidge groaned as she slapped her hand to her forehead, “subtle much?”

“Sorry, but my nerves got the better of me,” Hunk replied.

Hunk’s father scratched his head as he turned to him. “I’m sorry..what?”

Shiro sighed as he pointed to Black. “You know the Spring the Voltron?”

“Of course,” Lance’s mother replied with a shrug, “that old fairy tale.”

“Well, it’s not just a fairy tale,” Shiro said as Black hopped onto the coffee table, “it’s real, and the cats here are the same cats from the story.”

Black glanced to her sisters, and Red gave an encouraging nod to her. It was time for the real show.

Hunk’s father raised an eyebrow. “Shiro, I don’t know what kind of joke you’re trying to pull here, but it’s not very good-”

Black flitched her tail and suddenly the teapot Coran had put out floated in the air.

The adults gasped and even Shiro blinked stunned as the teapot poured into the cups. Once it was done, it floated back down and one of the cups floated in the air. All eyes were glued as the cup slowly flew like it was being careful to not spill a drop and then hovered in front of Lance’s mother.

Astounded, she reached out and yelped as Black released the spell and she held it tightly.

Lance’s jaw dropped and then grinned as he picked up Blue. “Can you do that?”

Blue shrugged as she twitched her tail.

Shiro raised an eyebrow as she glanced to Black. “Nice trick, but a little warning next time would be nice.”

Black gave a yawn in response. _Where would the fun be in that?_

Red growled in agreement.

Lance’s mother ran her hands over it and checked underneath it. “There aren’t any wires or anything,” she muttered and tapped the button, “...maybe it was with magnets.”

“I can assure you there are no magnets in this tea set whatsoever,” Coran said hotly. “This was my grandfather’s favorite set, I would never risk it getting broken for such h a cheap trick.”

Black growled and Coran only scowled back.

“If I find one crack in this pot because of your shenanigans, we will have words,” he warned.

Hunk and Lance’s parents said nothing as they looked to each other.

Keith swallowed as he watched Lance poke his dad’s shoulder.

“Um...you okay?” Lance said as he set Blue on the ground. “I know it’s a lot to take in-”

“I knew it!” Lance’s father cried as he pumped a fist and looked to his wife. “I told you there was something odd about that cat! Ha! But you just said I was being paranoid!”

“Yes, yes, Anton,” as Lance’s mother shook her head. “I won’t be living this down for awhile.”

Lance’s father grinned proudly with a smirk only a cat would claim. “I knew it! I knew these cats were not normal!”

The cats froze and glanced to each other.

_He knows?!_ Black asked. _How?_

_I have no idea!_ Blue asked. _I was always so careful!_

Lance’s jaw dropped as he quickly sprang to his feet. “Hold on!” He pointed to Blue. “You mean to say you KNEW Blue was magic?!”

“No, no, not quite,” Lance’s mother said, “but your father kept insisting strange things would happen when she was around.”

“Strange like what?” Keith asked with curiosity.

Lance’s father narrowed his eyes as he ran his fingers through his beard. “Doors and windows opening when I know I locked them, escaped goats are suddenly back in their pens, minor stuff that just happened to occur when I spy Blue hanging around.” He narrowed his eyes. “Do you know how many times I’ve locked my sock drawer only to come back and discover that cat somehow managed to take a nap in it.” He shook his head. “It takes forever to get the cat hair off of them.”

Blue’s ears folded back as all the other cats turned to her.

_You used a unlocking spell on a sock drawer?_ Green asked dryly.

_It’s right under a window where I’m able to lay in the sun and the socks make it comfy,_ Blue argued with a huff. _It’s a perfect napping spot._

Hunk’s mother frowned as she slowly raised a hand. “Honestly...I’m not surprised either.”

Hunk choked. “You mean, you saw Yellow do something?”

Hunk’s mother stroked her cheek. “In a way.” She turned her eyes to Yellow. “I woke up one night and went downstairs to fetch myself a glass of water where I found her standing in front of the fridge. I didn’t think much of it, until her ears twitch and suddenly the door moved on it’s own.” 

She extended her arms to demonstrate. “Yellow then took out the last slice of carrot cake and then the door suddenly shut by itself.” Hunk’s mother shook her head like she as trying to shake it off. “I assumed I had dreamt the whole thing and went straight back to bed.”

“Huh,” Hunk’s father said as he looked to Yellow, “and here I assumed it was Lisa that ate the last slice.”

Yellow meowed as she buried her head under a pillow.

_The fridge? Really, Sister?_ Red asked.

_It was good cake,_ Yellow mumbled, _and it always worked before when they were asleep._

_You mean you’ve done it before?!_ Red argued.

“Sssooo….you’re not super freaked out?” Hunk asked slowly.

“Well, it is a lot to take in,” Hunk’s mother replied, “but I must say it’s a bit of a relief to get a clear answer.” She frowned as she looked to Shiro. “But I have a feeling there’s a lot more to tell us.”

“There is,” Allura answered, “and before we tell you that, you need to know that the children are safe from the cats.”

“Oh, I figured that,” Lance’s father said as he ruffled Lance’s hair. “If I thought Blue was dangerous, even when that weird stuff was going on, I would have gotten rid of her a long time ago.”

“Dad,” Lance whined but only caused his father to laugh.

“And I’m also willing to bet we have to keep these little kitties a secret,” Hunk’s father replied.

“Yes,” Shiro said as he rubbed his neck, “we’re sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, but Allura and I wanted to see if we could find more information about them before we did.”

“And did you?” Lance’s mother asked.

“Yes, and no,” Shiro said and began his tale.

Red held her breath and Keith have her a squeeze as Shiro explained all they had been through. Lance’s mother gasped as they reached the part of Rolo and Nyma capturing Lance, but relaxed when Shiro explained how Blue saved them.

However, Hunk’s parents didn’t look as relieved when they reached the part of Sendak attempting to kidnap him and Pidge.

“How did you get away?” Hunk’s mother said as she wrapped her arms around Hunk.

“It was rather awesome,” Pidge commented, “he shoved hot peppers into Sendak’s face.”

Hunk’s father slapped his knee. “That’s my boy, a fast thinker when he needs to be.”

“He shouldn’t have had to,” Hunk’s mother commented softly.

“Mom, I’m okay,” Hunk whined as he wiggled free, “and both Yellow and Green saved us.”

“With that said,” Shiro added as he frowned, “with the extra danger that seems to be looming over us, I thought it was vital to tell you all.”

Narrowing her eyes, Lance’s mother crossed her arms. “So, you’re saying this Zarkon is after our kids because of the cats?”

“Um..yeah,” Lance said shyly and then tugged on her arm. “I know it seems scary, but please don’t make us get rid of our cats.”

Lance’s mother blinked, but then gave a smile as she patted Lance’s head. “I will admit, the thought crossed my mind, but,” she looked to Blue who lowered her head, “it’s not the cats fault they have someone after them.”

“Agreed,” voice Hunk’s father, “and I have a feeling even if we did send the cats away Zarkon would probably target the kids hopefully the cats would come to save them.”

“I don’t believe you’re wrong,” Lance’s father added as Hunk’s mother nodded. “If anything, the safest thing to do is keep the cats with the kids.”

Lance and Hunk exchanged hopeful glances to each other as did both Blue and Yellow.

“Sssooo,” Keith asked slowly as he raised his head, “you’ll let Hunk and Lance keep the cats.”

Lance’s mother pause, but after looking to the other parents gave a nod. “Yes, I believe we will,” she held up a finger, “provided you keep us update on what’s going on.”

“Agreed,” Hunk’s mother commented as she punched a fist into her palm. “And if this Zarkon think he’s coming after my family I have a rolling pin with his name on it.”

“Yes,” Lance cried as he hugged his parents. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Hunk hugged his parents as well with tears in his eyes as they returned the gesture.

Red let out the air she had been holding in as she glance to Black. _Well, I’ll admit that went better than I expected._

_Indeed,_ Black replied. _Perhaps it will be smooth sailing from here on out._

“With that said,” Lance’s father stated as he shook a finger in Blue’s face, “no more going into my sock drawer. I need cat hair free socks.”

_I make no promises,_ Blue commented.

Red sighed. _Or perhaps not._ However, she tossed such thoughts aside as Keith scratched her ear and purred in his lap. She didn’t know what the future held, but for now she would believe all would be well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of part 2! Next story will be Spirit Cats: Winter. Hopefully it won't take me as long to write and finished as Fall did, but we shall wait and see. I might be able to get a short story in the meantime, but again we shall wait and see.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story! I do love reading all of your comments and I'm so glad you guys all enjoy it. ^_^


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